Iceland volcano eruption: houses on fire as lava hits fishing town – Europe live

In an address to the nation yesterday, Iceland’s president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson said the country “must hold onto hope.”

He said:

What we all hoped would not happen has come to pass. It has come to pass that lava is flowing into Grindavík, a thriving town where people have built their lives, engaged in fishing and other occupations and created a community in harmony with God and one another.

The president added:

Although we now find ourselves in turmoil, we must hold onto hope. In some cases, this hope may be based in faith.

Lava once spilled out over the Vestmannaeyjar islands and ash covered the community. But the lychgate at the church there didn’t burn. The words ‘I live and you all will live’ stood on the gate and stand to this day.

But our hope may also be based on reason, on scientific knowledge and our ability to stay one step ahead of the forces of nature, despite it all.

‘What angered the gods so, when the lava flowed where we now stand?’ This was the answer given by the chieftain Snorri Þorgrímsson when it was claimed at Þingvellir over a thousand years ago that the gods had shown their anger towards Christians by causing lava to flow over the settlements.

People of Iceland. Since that time we have overcome various hardships, generation after generation, all the while enjoying the blessings of this county, this strikingly beautiful country.

We now wait and hope and take things as they come. And now all our plans for the future must take into account that a daunting period of upheaval has begun on the Reykjanes peninsula.