On our last day in Iceland, we had planned to visit the Blue Lagoon, a popular attraction that is heated by volcanic activity. However, our plans were disrupted by a sudden eruption alarm. Maxim and Marie, two Flemish tourists who were at the Blue Lagoon, shared their experience of having to evacuate the area after the alarm went off early Wednesday morning.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office had issued a warning about intense seismic activity and an imminent eruption near the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland. By 1 p.m. local time, lava was flowing from a volcano in the area. This was the fifth eruption in the region since December and considered the worst by experts due to its spectacular visual of large fountains of glowing lava. A state of emergency was declared as the lava fissure extended to nearly 4 kilometers in length.
Maxim and Marie were forced to leave the Blue Lagoon abruptly after only ten minutes of being in the water as an alarm sounded. There was no time for showers, with visitors quickly changing and evacuating from the area without panic among them. Despite this sudden evacuation, Maxim and Marie noted that they had been warned upon arrival about leaving immediately if an alarm sounded.
Geophysics professor Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson conducted an aerial survey of the eruption and confirmed that it had expanded to over 3 kilometers and covered an area of 5.5 square kilometers
