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Sunday, 21 March 2010 07:31 |
 "This is not a massive eruption, but it has on the other hand been increasing now in the first six hours," said Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson geophysicist. He arrived at 6am from the flight of the geologists over the volcano in Fimmvorduhals with the coast guard airplane. During the first flight of the coast guard were seen at least 15-16 lava fountains and the highest ones reached up to hundred meters tall. The eruption started just before midnight.
The eruption rift is between Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull and the rift is just about 1 km in length. To measure this against anything, the eruption rift in the last Hekla eruption was four km in length, and in the Vestmannaeyjar eruption in 1973 was the rift two km.
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Sunday, 21 March 2010 06:37 |
 "The earthquake activity in the area has been lesser than for the past few weeks after the eruption which is normal," says Steinunn Jakobsdottir, geophysicist at the Icelandic Met Office who has been on duty all night. "The activity did not increase just before the eruption, not at all. But quakes which reached two did have increased in numbers relatively. That should have been able to give us a clue of that there was an eruption close by. But on the other hand has this not been that much activity that one would think it is a sure thing that it would erupt."
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Sunday, 21 March 2010 05:13 |
 Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson geologist who has been in the air close to Fimmvorduhals tonight says that the volcanic rift is approximately 500 meters long and is laying from the northeast to southwest. Fifteen or sixteen lava fountains are visible and the highest ones are possibly reaching up to one hundred meters up into the air.
He says that the eruption is nor a large one and impossible to predict if the rift will get much longer, but the chances of that will reduce as time passes.
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Sunday, 21 March 2010 04:32 |
 According to the information from the geologists aboard TF-LIF is the eruption which started around midnight located on the north part of Fimmvorduhals, between Eyjafjallajokull and Myrdalsjokull. The volcano rift seems to be around 1 km long, and is laying in the northeast - southwest. Low volcano eruption belches are reaching out of the rift and little ash is visible.
The helicopter will now land in Vestmannaeyjar and wait for further development.
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Sunday, 21 March 2010 03:23 |
 The international air traffic over the Icelandic airspace is now directed directly south of Iceland, outside the planned flight route, because of the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajokull. From what Hjordis Gudmundsdottir says, information representative of Flugstodir, is this a reaction according to the protocols of Flugstodir because of a volcanic eruption but they demand that areas are closed in 120 nautical miles around the volcano.
"This area is closed because it is not known exactly where the cloud of volcanic ash and smoke is in the air," says Hjordis. |
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Sunday, 21 March 2010 02:37 |
 The volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajokull has been growing, says Throstur Sigfusson in Kirkjulaekjarkot. He went to Fljotsdalur which is positioned deep in Fljotshlid with Katrin Moller Eiriksdottir. There is considerable volcanic ash fall from Fljotsdalur to Barkarstadir said Throstur and Katrin.
The ask fall was like "burnt paper or small snowflakes". They did not get out of the car as it was unconfortable to breathe outside it. Rescue teams asked them to leave that location which they complied to. Throstur said that they thought it looked like the eruption is located at Fimmvorduhals.
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Sunday, 21 March 2010 02:25 |
"The glow from the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajokull has grown much stronger than it was only one and a half hour ago. Either the eruption is growing or the outlook has improved," said Marianna Masdottir in Kirkjulaekjarkot in Fljotshlid.
Marianna said that they are now experiencing volcanic ash fall and people can both feel the ash in their eyes and taste it and smell, some sort of sulfuric scent.
The earth fires seem to be in the east and north side of the glacier when watching from Kirkjulaekjarkot.
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Sunday, 21 March 2010 01:37 |
A helicopter of the Icelandic coast guard is on its way to Eyjafjallajokull with geologists to measure where the eruption is in the glacier. According to the information from the Icelandic Met Office does everything point towards that the erupton is in the west part of the glacier, but further information is expected soon.
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Sunday, 21 March 2010 01:05 |
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 "I can see a stripe of fire and it looks like it is on the east side and north side of the glacier. I think the smoke is coming over our way. The wind is blowing this way. The stench is strong," said Throstur Sigfusson in Kirkjulaekjarkoti in Fljotshlid. He was standing outside and watching the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajokull.
Throstur said that there are cars driving from Fljotshlid out west to Hvolsvollur.
Gudrun Markusdottir in Langagerdi in Hvolhreppur was in Fljotshlid and said she could see light from the glacier.
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Thursday, 25 February 2010 15:40 |
 Around 63,7% of the nation are rather or very against allowing casinos in Iceland. On the other hand are 71% of men under thirty supportive the idea. This is what the results of the survey of MMR shows.
According to the results of the MMR seems to be a considerable difference of the stand of the answerers based on age and gender. So there were 46% of men who said they were supportive of allowing casinos but only 26% of women. |
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Thursday, 25 February 2010 14:10 |
 The government has decided to grant 88,5 million króna for domestic programs for radio and television.
In question is a leftover from the culture fund of radio stations and the funds will be distributed according to the distribution regulations of the fun. There will be two distributions. One of them will be this year, and the other next year.
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Thursday, 25 February 2010 13:54 |
 There will be more wind and so expected to be more snowdrift in the capital area when the day passes and into the night, says Elisabet Margeirsdottir weather reporter at 365 midlar.
Elisabet warns people from traveling in the capital area if not needed when the night falls. Elisabet says that there will be less snowfall in the south west corner when the day passes. On the other hand may be expected more snowfall in south-east Iceland tonight.
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Tuesday, 26 January 2010 06:30 |
Ambassador of Germany, Dr. Karl-Ulrich Muller, was found dead in his vehicle in Nordurardalur in Skagafjordur yesterday.
Muller left Reykjavik on Sunday and was on his way North. The police and rescue teams searched for him yesterday but his car was found with the help of the rescue helicopter of the coast guards.
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Monday, 18 January 2010 19:21 |
 The teachers association of Iceland decided during its board meeting on Friday to deposit eleven thousand euros or around two million króna into the fund raising account of the international association of teachers in support for Haiti.
The funds are going to be used to reconstruct education and school work and support students and teachers in the country. This amount equals to that each member of the teachers association if Iceland, as well as working teachers and retired teachers, pay one euro to the heal and reconstruction process in this tormented country.
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Monday, 18 January 2010 14:07 |
 The special D.A. does not expect that the result in the cases which the office has now been investigating will be ready until the end of this winter. Then there will be possible to take a decision regarding if there will be issued lawsuits or not.
Olafur Thor Hauksson, special D.A. says that there are a few cases that are at a more advanced stage than other. "But they can easily get more complicated so this could change. |
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Sunday, 29 November 2009 10:17 |
 At four PM are the Christmas lights on the Oslo tree on Austurvollur to be lit. Besides the Christmas lights will Ketkrokur, the Christmas chimes of the support union of disabled and paralytic 2009, decorate the tree. Ketkrokur is the fourth chime in the Santa series of the support union but the former chimes of the union have decorated the tree for the past years.
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Friday, 20 November 2009 13:34 |
 The contamination surgeon general is estimating that around 60 thousand persons have been infected by the so called swine flu here in Iceland. Over 50 thousand persons have been vaccinated here in Iceland, especially patients in the so called priority groups, pregnant women and people in security and key jobs of various types. There are so around 110.000 persons now immune for the influenza or around a third of the nation.
Around 20 thousand doses of the vaccine against the influenza are expected to Iceland this weekend and they will be distributed immediately to the health clinics. |
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Monday, 16 November 2009 15:04 |
 The Christmas tree which is a gift from the people of Oslo to Iceland this year was cut down with a festive ceremony today. Those who were at the ceremony were amongst others Sigridur Duna Kristmundsdottir, ambassador of Iceland in Norway, and Margit F. Tveiten ambassador of Norway in Iceland. The lights on the tree are to be lit during a festive ceremony on Austurvollur on November 29th. This year have 58 years past since the people of Oslo gave Iceland their first Christmas tree.
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Thursday, 05 November 2009 15:17 |
 The bomb squad of the national coast guards was called out yesterday to take a look at a buoy which drifted ashore in Skardsfjara close to Kirkjubaejarklaustur. When looked at more closely was clear that this is a Russian tapping buoy but there was also found close to the buoy a Russian sailing buoy with a thermometer and salt gage from a submarine which is used to measure salt and soundspeed in the ocean. It says on the website of the national coast guards that sailors were not in danger from these objects. The age of these buoys are unknown.
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Friday, 30 October 2009 14:45 |
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 Most swine flu cases here in Iceland for the past days and weeks have been diagnosed in young children between 0-9 years old. This is a noticeable change from July and August where most of those who got sick were between 15-30 years old. This was included in the documents which Gudrun Sigmundsdottir senior physician of the office of the contamination surgeon general has collected. In the announcement from the surgeon general says on the other hand that the cases in the age group 15-30 is reducing.
The numbers from the virus department of Landspitali hospital and the absense registry of the elementary school in Mentor also show this increase of cases for children. The absense of students in the elementary schools of the country increased greatly in October.
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All air traffic in and out of Iceland has been stopped because of the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajokull and around a thousand passengers of Icelandair who intended to take the airplanes to Europe this morning are now stranded. Then airplanes from three destinations in the United States of America are stopped abroad.