Head of Azerbaijani diaspora in Iceland: Events unfolded like a in terrible movie

How long ago did the volcano in Iceland begin to erupt? What is its exact name?

The name of the volcano is Eyjafjallajoekull. It has a height of 1666 meters and a diameter of crater is 3-4 km. It is covered it with glaciers and is located in the south of Iceland in two hundred kilometers east of Reykjavik, the capital of the country. It is located within five hundred kilometers from the city of Akureyri, where I live. The last eruption began on February 21 this year and eventually led to the closure of the Europea airspace and cancellation of a large number of flights in April.
 
Previously, this volcano was considered dormant...

Yes, it was considered dormant since it last erupted in 1821. Today scientists do not know exactly know when eruption will end. The last volcanic eruption in Iceland lasted for about two years.

How does the country cope with the consequences of a volcanic eruption?

As you know, it still continues to erupt. But the life in the country is not paralyzed.

But the damage is already estimated in millions?

Yes, the damage amounts to 100 million ISK. These include the failure of many roads. The river, that overflew its banks, caused tremendous damage to everything around it. These also include costs for evacuating people, work of rescuers and police.

So, many people have lost their homes...

No, people are not losing their homes. Those who lived in villages close to the eruption area are being evacuated for the time being. Iceland is also famous for its horses. The horses are always in the open air here. After the eruption followed by a volcanic ash, peculiar substance began to settle on horses that causes animals in a frenzy. They began to itch and become unmanageable, and gallop everywhere. Most farmers thus lose many of their horses.

It was reported that when the eruption began, some people even managed to do business, bringing tourists here or cooking food directly over the volcanic lava ...

Helicopter flights were organized to this area right after the eruption began in March. 20-minute flight around the volcano cost about $350. Revenues of firms reached two million dollars a day! You could, of course, travel there by car and then walk for 8-10 hours off-road.

There was even a case when 55-year-old man and two women - 43 and 33 went to see the volcano in a car. They were lost and there was no connection with them. Their car ran out of gasoline. Events unfolded like a terrible movie. As a result, only 33-year-old woman survived, the rest were frozen and killed. The fact is that substances deposited everywhere during the eruption are poisonous.

What do the scientists predict?

Predictions are not good at all. There is another volcano called Katla near the erupting one. Researchers concluded that it is possible that it will also begin to erupt. In event it erupts, it will create much more obstacles for flights. Planes will not be able to fly over Europe for much longer. Indeed, as we know, the volcanic ash was blown by the wind to the middle part of Europe. In Iceland, this ash has covered all the cars, roofs of houses, even those that are very far from the volcano.

And what about the weather? Did it cause any climate change?

Yes, the weather has become very strange. It was snowing on Friday despite April 22 is officially the first day of summer in Iceland. This day sometimes even considered a weekend…


/Day.Az/