Flood waters created by melting glacial ice have been steadily rising, and knocked out the power in one southeastern Iceland town.
As reported, seismic activity in the Grímsvötn region, as well as increasing melting of glacial ice, has led scientists to speculate that a new – albeit small – volcanic eruption is likely. Grapevine volcanologist James Ashworth has pointed out that “waters now coming down from Grímsvötn are predominantly from the subglacial lake (beneath the ice). They are almost certainly NOT sudden melting caused by some huge change in activity.”
However, RÚV is reporting that flood waters are steadily and rapidly rising. Melting glacial waters coming through the Gígjukvísl area have increased from 140 cubic meters a second midday yesterday to 455 cubic meters per second by noon today and 630 cubic meters per second at 17:30 today.
In fact, a large chunk of ice carried by the melting waters smashed into a high tension cable tower, knocking out all electricity in the town of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Workers are currently trying to repair the damage and restore power to the town. The flood waters continue to rise.
More updates to come as they occur.
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