A Night to Remember!

A Night to Remember! by Snuppy

Wednesday, 13 June 2007, 7:53am
Filed under: FYI (ish), Teh Penguin

While sorting through my pictures in some of my many albums, I came across this one:

I love when you discover good photos you forgot you ever took. This picture is responsible for today´s post!

For thousands of years a quiet group of islands in the North Atlantic peacefully existed. They are called the Vestmann islands and are located south of Iceland. Then, on the 14th of November 1963, a new volcano erupted out of the sea in a violent column of ash and fire, creating the youngest island in the world, Heimaey.
In true Viking fashion, Icelanders can settle almost anywhere, and why should an island of cooled magma be any exception? Heimaey was settled, its inhabitants fully aware of the intricate dance they are about to engage in. Iceland, beyond doubt, is the land of ice and FIRE.

Only 10 years later on January 23rd, 1973, a Tuesday I seem to remember, history would repeat itself, only this time, 5000 souls inhabited this island. All the boats were in the harbor that night, a gale and heavy rainfall through the day kept them in the bay. At around 1.55 am the eruption began and a thick slope of lava descending from the mountain now known as “Eldfjall” (Fire mountain), making its way slowly but steadily towards the town and harbor area.

Police cars and fire trucks sounded their alarms driving through the streets to wake up a town fast asleep and within two hours everybody was afoot, streaming down to the harbor where 60-70 boats were ready to get the optimistic Vikings to safer shores, the first boat is said to have left at 2.30, merely 40 minutes after everything started. The town council had decided to evacuate the whole population.

Within an hour Icelandair and other minor airway companies, including the NATO Defense Force in Keflavik helped and transported around 300 people by air, putting an emphasis on the sick and elderly. In one night, all 5000 were evacuated, only one man died and not the Volcano´s fault either. The population was warned that due to the shaking earth, gas leaks will occur and a volcanic eruption is simply not the time you should lock yourself into a cellar!

A mad professor, the world is filled with them, one was bound to be located on Heimaey, suggested to pump cold sea water onto the running lava and with it breaking its flow towards the city into another direction. Needless to say, he was mostly laughed at…but there is also bound to be one good idea in say…um…1000 mad professors and when his idea was put into action, the result was as desired. By cooling the lava from one side (dip your toes into the Atlantic around here and you´ll understand) it budged out to the other side and left its original trail.

The harbor was saved. 400 houses destroyed, 250 damaged and 250 escaped without a scratch. And slowly, yet steadily … almost half of its inhabitants returned. It took a year to clean away the ashes left behind form that fateful day. The population is about 4.800 now…that´s 200 short of 5000! I bet almost all of them are ready should nature decide to go out on a whim again.

And images like these serve as a daily reminder of the fiery power Mother Nature holds deep within her icy exterior.

~Penguin out!

Any questions? Fire away or satisfy your burning curiosity about the rest of life at

Homor-Blogs!

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