PDF · apríl 2009

Resi­dents’ views of volcan­ic risk in sout­hern Iceland – a prelimin­ary analys­is

Volcanic risk mitigation strategies have been revised by scientists, regional police and local rescue teams, in conjunction with Almannavarnir (Icelandic Civil Protection Office), for communities to the east and south of the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap. This is because the Katla volcano (Fig. 1), which underlies Mýrdalsjökull, is thought to be in an agitated state (Sturkell et al., 2008) and overdue for an eruption. In addition to catastrophic jökulhlaup, Katla eruptions produce heavy tephra fallout and lightning hazards in communities up to 30 km from the eruption site (Larsen, 2000) and have triggered small coastal tsunami during past events (Guðmundsson et al., 2008). The revised evacuation plan was tested during a full scale exercise on 25 March 2006 in the communities of Sólheimar, Vík, Álftaver and Meðalland.