Iceland Volcanoes Again

[captain nemo1701]

If Starfleet did not break protocols, they might as well make a program about accountants! Well, not sayinig accountants dont break protocol, but accountancy is boring regardless of if they break protocol or not!

No money in the 24th century so probably no need for accountants.

 

[gavgav]

Note to self - don't build a home or business on a volcano that has been active in living memory.

I have every sympathy with those thatnhave lost their property and possession, but surely they must all have realised the potential for things to end very badly? S'like houses on floodplains - no shortage of folk daft enough to buy them.

I guess on a small island like La Palma, you have to live somewhere and pretty much any part of the island can erupt, in theory.

 

[figbat]

So here we are again!

This time it feels a lot more personal - my wife and I stayed in Grindavík in February and know exactly where the large fissure has opened up - we used that road a few times. There’s an absolutely charming café (hjá höllu) about 200m from the fissure and our accommodation was about 700m from it. We feel genuinely sad about it as we had hoped to get back there - I hope it doesn’t get bad for them. 😔

 

[HMS_Dave]

So here we are again!

This time it feels a lot more personal - my wife and I stayed in Grindavík in February and know exactly where the large fissure has opened up - we used that road a few times. There’s an absolutely charming café (hjá höllu) about 200m from the fissure and our accommodation was about 700m from it. We feel genuinely sad about it as we had hoped to get back there - I hope it doesn’t get bad for them. 😔

In many ways it's already a disaster. Many of the buildings are structurally terminal from the near constant earthquakes. It's been brewing for years on the peninsula and it seems likely this is going to be a big one.

 

[captain nemo1701]

A work colleague went over a couple of weeks ago for his 50th birthday. When they went to the Blue Lagoon they noted that it was closing at the end of the week and weren't taking future bookings.....lucky for his birthday!.

 

[T4tomo]

A work colleague went over a couple of weeks ago for his 50th birthday. When they went to the Blue Lagoon they noted that it was closing at the end of the week and weren't taking future bookings.....lucky for his birthday!.

its not like its the only hot spring on the island, its just popular (and expensive) as it handy for the airport and Reykjavik

 

[figbat]

its not like its the only hot spring on the island, its just popular (and expensive) as it handy for the airport and Reykjavik

It’s not even a hot spring - it is an artificial pool heated by the geothermal power station next door.

 

[Drago]

Well, it looks like a matter of when rather than if. The good news is that its unlikely to be an explosive event. The bad news is, as the newsies have been telling us, there's rather a lot of buildings in the firing line of potential lava flows, and those that survive have largely been shaken to the point where they require demolition.

 

[T4tomo]

The best hope is that the magma flow, that has been moving underground and getting nearer the surface, keeps moving south and breaks through out at sea, but whatever happens as @Drago says, there has been a lot of tremor damage already.

 

[Profpointy]

They'll have to watch out for people returning from the dead. That'll cause all sorts of problems

Anyone else watched the excellent "Katla"?

 

[matticus]

In many ways it's already a disaster. Many of the buildings are structurally terminal from the near constant earthquakes. It's been brewing for years on the peninsula and it seems likely this is going to be a big one.

Were those buildings not "quake-proof" construction, or can they only withstand a certain number of quakes (like a fatigue limit in Aluminium tubes)?

 

[figbat]

Whilst we were in Iceland my wife and I both read the book ‘The Fires’ by Sigríður Hagalín Björnsdóttir. Written in Icelandic and translated to English it is a fictional novel but written with a lot of research and information on volcanism. What’s happening now draws many parallels with the plot of the book and I found it a fascinating read simply to learn about volcanism. It was further engaging as we were visiting the very locations mentioned in the book, almost in real time!

 

[Baldy]

Were those buildings not "quake-proof" construction, or can they only withstand a certain number of quakes (like a fatigue limit in Aluminium tubes)?

I think there's only so much you can mitigate against and quake proofing is very expensive.

 

[HMS_Dave]

Were those buildings not "quake-proof" construction, or can they only withstand a certain number of quakes (like a fatigue limit in Aluminium tubes)?

I'm not sure, but even if they were "quake-proof" the land on the west side of Grindavik dropped by an entire metre! I'm not sure any quake-proof standards build to those specifications.

 

[matticus]

I'm not sure, but even if they were "quake-proof" the land on the west side of Grindavik dropped by an entire metre! I'm not sure any quake-proof standards build to those specifications.

Just need some MDF and a decent nail-gun.