[Travelandtourism] Volcanic cloud closes down airspace of several nations
cheryl echevarria
cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com
Thu Apr 15 15:42:53 UTC 2010
Europe: Update: Volcanic cloud closes down airspace of several nations
GoAlert24 Internal [15-Apr-10 08:29:19 AM (EST)]
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REYKJAVIK, April 15, 2010 (AFP) - A huge cloud of ash from an Icelandic
volcano drifted over northern Europe on Thursday, forcing the closure of
vast swathes of international airspace and the cancellation of hundreds of
flights.
The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in southeast Iceland had
already melted a 250 metre thick glacier around it, causing severe floods.
More than 700 people were evacuated from their homes.
Ash from the second major eruption in Iceland in less than a month blew
eastwards across the Atlantic, closing major airports more than 1,000 miles
(1,700 kilometers) away.
Britain, Denmark, Norway and Sweden all shut down their airspace because the
ash was a threat to jet engines and visibility.
There was major disruption in Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, the
Netherlands and Spain.
More than 300 flights out of London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports and
others in Britain were cancelled, including transatlantic services.
British airport operator BAA said: "Following advice from the Met Office,
the National Air Traffic Service has introduced restrictions to UK airspace
this morning as a result of volcanic ash drifting across the United Kingdom
from Iceland."
British Airways said it would run no flights into or out of Britain until at
least Friday morning.
Many flights from the rest of Europe to North America would have to be
rerouted because they normally go through British airspace, officials said.
The ash was drifting at an altitude of about 5.0-6.0 miles (8.0-10
kilometers) and could not been seen from the ground. But experts said it
posed a major threat to air traffic.
In the past 20 years, there have been 80 recorded encounters between
aircraft and volcanic clouds, causing the near-loss of two Boeing 747s with
almost 500 people on board and damage to 20 other planes, with repair costs
totalling hundreds of millions of dollars, say experts.
Icelandic airports remained open as wind was blowing ash away from the
island.
"Flights to and from Iceland are still ok. The wind is blowing the ash to
the east," Hjordis Gudmundsdottir of the Icelandic Airport Authority told
AFP.
"It's amazing really," she said. "Things here should be fine for the next 12
hours at least, and we think probably all day, judging from the weather
forecast."
The volcano on the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in southern Iceland erupted just
after midnight on Wednesday.
Smoke coming out of the top crater stacked more than 20,000 feet (6,000
metres) into the sky, meteorologists said. Icelandic public broadcaster RUV
reported that a 500-metre fissure had appeared at the top of the crater on
Wednesday.
Lava melted the glacier, causing major flooding which forced the evacuation
of between 700 and 800 people. Evacuees were being directed to Red Cross
centres.
"We have two heavy floods coming out from the melting of the
Eyjafjallajokull glacier," police spokesman Roegnvaldur Olafsson told AFP
from near the site of the eruption late Wednesday.
The eruption in a remote area about 125 kilometres (75 miles) east of
Reykjavik was bigger than the blast at the nearby Fimmvorduhals volcano last
month.
"It is very variable how long these eruptions last. Anywhere from a few days
to over a year," Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a professor of geophysics and
civil protection advisor in Iceland, told AFP.
"Judging from the intensity of this one, it could last a long time," he
added.
"There were more than 250 metres (820 feet) of thick ice on top of the
crater. That quickly melted, causing massive flooding which caused some
damage yesterday," Gudmundsson said.
Olafur Eggertsson said he had been forced to evacuate his farm, which lies
in the path of one of two large floods of melt water coming from the
glacier.
"We heard a lot of noise and saw mud and soil suddenly rushing down from the
mountain. Just 30 minutes later we had mud and soil and a giant flood
running into our dyke above the farm," Eggertsson told AFP.
His family left all their animals behind in the rush to escape.
"We have 200 animals on our farm: cows and sheep who are all inside now. It
takes some time for the dykes to be destroyed and I don't know yet if they
are in danger, but we are extremely worried," he said.
Last month, the first volcano eruption at the Eyjafjallajokull glacier since
1823 -- and Iceland's first since 2004 -- briefly forced 600 people from
their homes in the same area.
That eruption at the Fimmvorduhals volcano, which gushed lava for weeks,
ended Tuesday, experts said.
Cheryl Echevarria
Independent Travel Consultant
C10-10646
http://Echevarriatravel.com
1-866-580-5574
http://blog.echevarriatravel.com
Reservations at echevarriatravel.com
Affiliated as an Independent Contractor with Montrose Travel CST-1018299-10
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