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Tag: Iceland

  • Iceland dents England’s final preparations for Euro 2024 

    Iceland dents England’s final preparations for Euro 2024 

    England wrapped up their Euro 2024 preparations with a disappointing performance, suffering a defeat against Iceland at Wembley.

    Manager Gareth Southgate made several changes to the team that won against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday, but the display was lackluster and disappointing.

    Iceland, known for their victory over England at Euro 2016, took advantage of poor defending, with keeper Aaron Ramsdale, standing in for Jordan Pickford, possibly able to do better with Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson’s early goal.

    England had their chances, with Harry Kane missing a great opportunity and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, among the better performers, also having opportunities. However, England looked rusty as they prepared for their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia on June 16.

    Throughout the match, England appeared vulnerable at the back, and Iceland had chances to extend their lead.

    Defender John Stones was substituted at half-time due to injury, raising concerns with Harry Maguire already ruled out of the tournament.

    The loss to Iceland, ranked 72nd in the Fifa rankings, was met with jeers from the crowd, reflecting a poor performance. England’s only shot on target came late in the game, highlighting their struggles.

    While the match was part of England’s preparations, the defeat to Iceland is concerning. The players received a muted send-off from the fans, indicating the disappointment in their performance.

    Southgate will hope this match helped shake off some rust, but the team will need to improve significantly before Euro 2024 begins.

  • Southwest Iceland volcano begins to erupt once again

    Southwest Iceland volcano begins to erupt once again

    A volcano in southwest Iceland exploded on Wednesday, sending out red rivers of hot liquid rock. It forced the evacuation of the famous Blue Lagoon spa.

    The eruption started in the afternoon after some earthquakes near a town called Grindavik. The town has 3,800 people and they were all asked to leave.

    The Met Office says that lava is shooting up to 50 meters (165 feet) into the sky from a crack in the ground that is about one kilometer (1,100 yards) long.

    The Blue Lagoon spa was cleared out before the volcano started to erupt, according to RUV, the national broadcaster.

    Iceland is a country in the North Atlantic that has a lot of volcanoes. They have eruptions often and they know how to handle them well. The biggest problem recently was when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in 2010. It sent a lot of ash into the sky and caused many airports in Europe to close.

    The most recent eruptions show that the Svartsengi volcano is waking up after being quiet for almost 800 years. We don’t know when the activity will stop or what it means for the Reykjanes Peninsula, which is one of the most crowded parts of Iceland.

  • Couple on vacation watches “crazy” volcanic explosion in a taxi

    Couple on vacation watches “crazy” volcanic explosion in a taxi

    A couple on vacation in Iceland said it was really surprising to see a volcano erupting right in front of them.

    Lorraine Crawford, who is 67 years old, and her husband, John, who is 70 years old, from Essex, went on a trip with their family to Reykjavik.

    The group was in a taxi going to Keflavik International Airport on Sunday when they saw the volcano erupting in the distance, but they thought it was a fire.

    The volcano near Grindavik town erupted for the second time in under a month.

    ‘Very loud sound’

    People in the community had to leave their homes in November for six weeks. Then, more earthquakes happened and there was another eruption on December 18, 2023.

    “It’s kind of worrying and also thrilling to see something like that, but then you realize it could cause a lot of harm,” said Mrs. Crawford, who owns a travel agency with her family.

    “We thought we saw a fire far away, but the taxi driver told us it was the real volcano exploding. ”

    She said they heard a very loud noise and a very loud rumble from the airport, but they didn’t know what caused it.

    Mrs Crawford also said that their taxi driver told them he lived “close” to the volcano.

    “He said he was at home one morning and saw what he thought was a fire from his kitchen window. But it turned out to be the volcano erupting,” she said.

    “He said this morning when he was going to the airport, there wasn’t anything, but when he was coming back, we could see the red in the distance. It was really crazy. ”

    “I’m glad we weren’t very close. “

  • Houses in Iceland town catch fire as lava flows in

    Houses in Iceland town catch fire as lava flows in

    Houses in the town of Grindavik in Iceland were caught on fire because two cracks in the ground caused by a volcano.

    A volcano erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula early on Sunday, and lava flowed into the nearby fishing town.

    According to one expert, the eruption is turning out to be the worst possible situation, and everyone in the town is being forced to leave.

    Defences made after a volcano eruption in December have somewhat stopped the lava, but some have been broken through.

    The road into the town is blocked by flowing lava. On Monday, the Icelandic government said the hot liquid rock has started to flow slower.

    Iceland’s President Gudni Johannesson spoke to the country on live TV on Sunday night. He asked everyone to come together and show kindness to those who can’t be at home.

    He said he wanted things to calm down, but anything could happen. This was reported by the AFP news agency.

    A big earthquake happened before the Svartsengi volcano erupted in December. In the weeks that followed, walls were constructed around the volcano to guide the hot liquid rock away from Grindavik, where about 4,000 people live.

    The Icelandic weather office said the walls were broken in some places, and now lava has reached the town and set houses and buildings on fire.

    Flights were not affected by the volcano eruption, both within the country and to other countries. The aviation colour code for the Reykjanes peninsula was orange on Monday morning. This means there is an ongoing eruption but there is not a lot of ash coming out.

    Flights from Keflavik Airport nearby were running as usual.

    People who had gone back to live in Grindavik, in the southwest of Iceland, after the last volcano eruption, had to leave their homes again.

    “Watching your house burn on TV is really hard,” said Unndpr Sigurthsson, whose family lost their home. She said her family had to leave most of their things when they were told to leave quickly, so they only had clothes and things they really needed.

    Volcano expert Evgenia Ilyinskaya said on BBC Breakfast that the peninsula will probably have a lot of volcanic eruptions soon, called the New Reykjanes Fires.

    Professor Ilyinskaya said that volcanic eruptions could happen every few months or once a year for many decades or even centuries.

    The Reykjanes Fires were a lot of big volcanic eruptions that happened on the peninsula in the 12th Century.

    Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said the government will have a meeting on Monday to talk about how to help the people who had to leave their homes.

    “Today is a sad day for Grindavik and for all of Iceland, but things will get better,” she said.

    “We will face this surprise together, and we will handle whatever happens next. ” We are thinking of you and sending our best wishes.

    The alert level in the country is now at its highest, which means there could be a danger to people, communities, property, or the environment.

    Sunday’s explosion is the fifth one to happen along the Reykjanes peninsula since 2021.

    Iceland is located on a big crack in the Earth’s crust where two huge pieces of the Earth’s surface meet. Iceland has 33 volcanoes that are still active.

  • Huge volcano in Iceland bursts and spews lava after 5.2-magnitude earthquake

    Huge volcano in Iceland bursts and spews lava after 5.2-magnitude earthquake

    About 19 miles away from Iceland‘s capital, Reykjavik, is where the eruption is.

    Following a string of earthquakes that were detected over the weekend, a volcanic eruption has jolted Iceland.

    Drone video captures the lava flowing on the Reykjanes peninsula, which is close to the country’s capital, Reykjavik.

    According to today’s statement from the nation’s Meteorological Office (IMO), it follows significant quake activity in the region.

    ‘At the moment, it is a very small eruption,’ Matthew Roberts of the service and research division at the IMO stressed.

    Smoke billowing from the flowing lava (Picture: AFP)

    On Sunday, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook the whole of Iceland, one of the strongest in recent days.

    There are no disruptions to arrivals and departures at the main airport, Keflavik, as of yet, according to the website.

    A statement from the IMO read: ‘An eruption has started just northwest of Litli Hrutur.

    ‘Last night a M 5.2 earthquake was detected just ESE of Mount Keilir. This event is the largest one in the current seismic activity. Aftershocks are very likely and can reach up to M4.

    ‘Two earthquakes over M4 were detected yesterday morning, the larger a M4.3 at 8.28am located next to Keilir.

    On July 8, an earthquake of magnitude 4.5 was detected at lake Kleifarvatn. This quake is most likely caused by stress changes.

    ‘Since July 4, over 1,200 earthquakes have been detected between Fagradalsfjall and Keilir. The current swarm is caused by a dike intrusion beneath the area.’

  • Four men arrested in Iceland on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks

    The men were apprehended in a Reykjavik suburb when it became apparent that the police were the primary target of the preparations local media has reported 

    Four men have been detained by Icelandic police on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks against government facilities, including the parliament, according to the country’s national television RUV.

    Officers are exploring potential links to Nordic far-right groups and the police were the central target, local media has reported.

    The four Icelandic men, all in their 20s, were arrested in the Kopavogur suburb of the capital Reykjavik, and in the southwestern town of Mosfellsbær, in an operation involving special forces.

    Two of the men were remanded in custody, while the other two were released after questioning.

    Several semi-automatic weapons, including 3D-printed guns, were seized at nine locations during the operation, which involved 50 officers, The Guardian reports.

    The operation was the first of its kind in Iceland.

    RUV reports that the men intended to target multiple public buildings, including the Icelandic parliament.

    Karl Steinar Valsson, the national commissioner of the Icelandic police, said at a news conference: “It is safe to say that our society is safer than it was.”

    “We are just starting some work and are seizing a large number of phones and computers and other such things. All that work is in the very early stages.

    “We took certain measures while we were getting the situation under control. Of course, we don’t want to reveal what the exact response of the police is.

    “At its peak, there was about 50 police personnel who took part in the police operation. With them, we think we’ve covered what we’re investigating and don’t think there’s any danger in travelling.”

    He added: “As far as we know, this is the first time that an investigation of this type has been launched (in Iceland).

    “The origin of the police operations yesterday … was in the context of an investigation into the preparation of a terrorist attack.”

    Mr Valsson added that the investigation was continuing but further arrests could not be ruled out.

    Iceland, a small country of 375,000 people, has topped the Global Peace Index since it was included in the ranking in 2008 and is considered one of the most peaceful places in the world.