Holuhraun Volcano In Iceland Is The Most Dangerous Place To Be; Life-Threatening Sulphur Dioxide Swarming The Crater
The volcano in Holuhraun in Iceland is the most dangerous place because the molten lava is flowing in all directions, in addition to eruptions of fire and stones. According to News of Iceland, sulphur dioxide which is considered life-threatening is traveling with the wind. Northern parts of the East fjords of Iceland was given a warning that the wind was carrying with it high levels of sulphur dioxide that were emitted during the eruption.
Scientists have been trying to detect and protect the people from the gases and evacuation has been done regularly in the area so to avoid high concentration of the gases. The Icelandic Met Office had issued a 'red alert' when the eruptions began at the end of August. Flights have been banned over the area of Iceland.
The area has been closed down with access given only for scientists and journalists. Without authorisation, a lot of trespassers have been trying to enter the area and were arrested by the Icelandic police with the charges of trespassing. The Department of Civil Protection has said that it is of utmost importance to stay away from the area.
Víðir Reynisson from the Department of Civil Protection, in an interview with mbl.is said that people belonging to Reyôarfijörôur, a town eighty kilometres from the site of eruption, were experiencing great discomfort because of the gases emitted due to the eruption.
He added that the ground was constantly changing with a lot of new rifts coming up.
Dramatic images of the Bardarbunga volcano, taken from an altitude of 50-500 metres, throwing out lava and molten ash have been released. The images also have the Aurora Borealis in the background.
In an incident 4 years ago, in the year 2010, an eruption of the Eyjafjallajokul volcano, in another region of Iceland, led to the shutting down of the air space in Europe for a span of six days, with over 100,000 flights being cancelled, in fear that the ash cloud from the eruption will affect it. It created an aviation chaos estimating about € 1.26 billion.
The dramatic pictures of the Holuhraun eruption were taken from an altitude of 50-500m at twilight and with the stunning Aurora Borealis in the background.
Access to the volcano on foot is currently restricted because of the dangerous gases released from the eruption and the risk of flooding due to melting glaciers. The Holuhraun eruption has caused frequent earthquakes in the region.
Bardarbunga is located under Iceland's largest glacier and it has been rocked by thousands of earthquakes for nearly two weeks. A red warning code indicates that an eruption is imminent or underway, with a risk of ash.