Icelandic authorities say volcanic eruption stabilizing

STOCKHOLM, April 15, 2010 (Xinhua) --

The Icelandic Civil Protection Authorities said Thursday evening that the force of the volcanic eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in southern Iceland appeared to be steady, according to reports from Reykjavik.

"Preliminary findings indicate that the area around the glacier and Myrdalsandur, to the east, have been affected. The volcanic ash has fallen to ground unevenly and sporadically reaching up to three mm thick," the Civil Protection Authorities said in a statement.

"Inhabitants of the area describe the ash as being black to grey in color and very fine, similar to flour or sugar grains. Volcanic ash fall has also seriously restricted ground visibility in some areas," the statement said.

Scientists do not rule out the risk of further volcanic activity and flooding. The flow of water into the glacial lagoon is being closely monitored.

"The glacier is still covered with clouds which makes observation from the ground difficult," the statement said.

International weather observatories in cooperation with the Icelandic Met Office are monitoring the weather conditions and the projected path of the volcanic ash cloud, which in the present conditions is being carried towards Europe and Scandinavia.

Air travel restrictions have been implemented in several European countries including Sweden, Germany and Britain.

Editor: Li Xianzhi

New volcano eruption believes starting in southern Iceland

STOCKHOLM, April 14, 2010 (Xinhua) --

All indications showed a new eruption was starting in Eyjafjallajokull glacier in southern Iceland, according to reports reaching here from Reykjavik on Wednesday.

"Rivers are growing bigger and smoke was seen over the glacier this morning," geologist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson was quoted as saying by the Icelandic newspaper online The Iceland Review.

"Indications are that an eruption has already started under the glacier. Rivers close to the glacier are growing. Markarfljot, the biggest river close to the glacier is growing at a fast rate. At this moment it is difficult to estimate the size of the eruption," Gudmundsson added.

"Most likely the top crater at Eyjafjallajokull glacier had started to erupt. That volcano has been dormant since the 1821-1823 eruption," volcanologist Haraldur Sigurdsson told the Icelandic national broadcaster RUV.

Earthquake activity started late Tuesday night in the area. About 800 people in the area were evacuated Wednesday morning, but some were allowed to go to their farms to attend to animals later. However, they were asked to return to safer places at 8:00 a.m.

Roads to the area have been closed both from the east and the west, according to the staff of Iceland's civil protection.

Two airplanes flying over Eyjafjallajokull Wednesday morning indicated that smoke is coming up in a new place to the south west of the eruption in Fimmvorduhsals. This might be the beginning of a new eruption, much more dangerous than the previous eruption, said Iceland Review.

Some 800 evacuated in Iceland due to volcano eruption risk

STOCKHOLM, April 14, (Xinhua) --

About 800 people were evacuated in southern Iceland Wednesday after a volcano eruption risk, according to reports reaching here from Reykjavik.

"About 800 people were evacuated from their homes at the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in the south of Iceland. Because Eyjafjallajokull has the risk of an eruption," reported the Icelandic national broadcaster RUV.

The report added that all of roads near the area were closed. The measure water showed a large increase in the north of Eyjafjallajokull, the report added.

Coast Guard now flies over the glacier on the new plane, which is well equipped with devices to see through clouds what is happening on the glacier, civil protection staff was quoted as saying by RUV.

Editor: Lin Zhi

Icelandic volcanic eruption intensified

April 14, 2010, (Xinhua)

Smoke and steam hangs over the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, Wednesday April 14, 2010, which has erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters.

Volcanic ash drifting across the Atlantic forced the cancellation of flights in Britain and disrupted air traffic across northern Europe, stranding thousands of passengers. Flights in and out of London Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, were halted, and the shutdowns and cancellations spread to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland.

The volcano's smoke and ash poses a threat to aircraft because it can affect visibility, and microscopic debris can get sucked into airplane engines and can cause them to shut down.

Smoke and steam hangs over the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland, Wednesday April 14, 2010, which has erupted for the second time in less than a month, melting ice, shooting smoke and steam into the air and forcing hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters.

Iceland reports new powerful volcanic eruption

STOCKHOLM, April 14, 2010 (Xinhua) --

A volcanic eruption that has started under the Eyjafjalla glacier in southern Iceland on Wednesday is much more powerful than one that took place last month, according to reports from Reykjavik.

The eruption melted ice and shot smoke and steam thousands of meters into the air. It also forced the closure of a major road and forced hundreds of people to flee rising floodwaters.

Information gathered from scientists aboard a Coast Guard plane that flew over the volcano indicated that the total length of the fissure is about two kilometers, the Icelandic national broadcaster RUV reported. The new eruption appears to be about nine kilometers west of the fissure that developed last month.

Massive flooding has started on the Markarfljot river in the area. Roads and bridges are considered to be in danger.

"Both sides of the glacier are flooded. It appears to be a very powerful flood," Vidir Reynisson, who manages the Icelandic Civil Protection Department, was quoted as saying by the online Iceland Review.

Reynisson said that it was important that people do not drive along the main coastal ring road near the volcano.

No air traffic was allowed in a large area above and around the eruption site. The no flight zone could affect routes to and from Norway, even Russia later Wednesday, RUV reported.

On Wednesday morning, about 800 people were evacuated from their homes near the volcano because of the risk of eruption.

The volcano, about 120 kilometers east of Reykjavik, erupted March 20 after almost 200 years of silence.

Iceland, a nation of 320,000 people, sits on a large volcanic hot spot in the Atlantic's mid-oceanic ridge. Volcanic eruptions are often triggered by seismic activity when the Earth's plates move and when magma from deep underground pushes its way to the surface.

Editor: Mu Xuequan