Almost 50% Think Recent Seismic Activity in Iceland will Disrupt Air Travel

Iceland declared a state of emergency on November 10, 2023, after a series of powerful volcanic eruptions in Iceland that rocked the country’s southwestern Reykjanes peninsula. This being what could be a precursor to a volcanic eruption near Sundhnjukagigar, some three kms (1.86 miles) north of the town of Grindavik. On this note, Real Research set out to take a survey on state of emergency in Iceland.

Highlights:

• Almost 38.58% of poll takers are not concerned about the impact of volcanic eruptions.
• Only 34.57% felt extremely confident in authorities’ ability to respond effectively.
• 68.83% believe experiences of past seismic activity have influenced the current response and precautions taken by authorities

Volcanic eruptions in Iceland: Evacuation

Authorities in Iceland have declared a state of emergency after a series of earthquakes occurred and there was a volcanic eruption in the Reykjanes peninsula in the southwest of the country. Real Research asked the respondents if they were aware of this: 43.80% were well aware, 36.47% were vaguely aware, and 19.73% were not aware.

Evacuation plans have been put in place for the town of Grindavik, with a population of around 4,000, located three kms southwest of the area where the seismic swarm was recorded. Upon asking the survey takers how concerned they were about the impact of volcanic eruptions in Iceland on the infrastructure of Grindavik, the responses were as such: not at all concerned (38.58%), somewhat concerned (41.63%), and extremely concerned (19.78%).

The evacuation for the Iceland volcano eruption was not described as an emergency evacuation, and the authorities asked people to “remain calm, because we have a good amount of time to react.” Real Research asked the poll takers how confident they were in the authorities’ ability to respond effectively to the potential volcanic eruptions in Iceland. 34.57% felt extremely confident, 53.08% were somewhat confident, and 12.35% were absolutely not confident.

Volcanic eruptions in Iceland: Precaution

Responses to the question, “Do you think the experiences of past volcanic eruptions in Iceland, such as the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in 2010, have influenced the current response and precautions taken by authorities?” were yes (68.83%) and no (31.17%).

Volcanic eruptions in Iceland: Impacts

The online survey app also asked the respondents about the impacts of the Iceland volcano. Predominantly, they were asked how likely it is that the recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland will have long-term consequences for the country’s tourism industry, considering the closure of popular sites like the Blue Lagoon. The response votes fell in this accord: extremely likely (37.60%), somewhat likely (49.22%), somewhat unlikely (9.43%), and extremely unlikely (3.75%).

Real Research also asked its participants if they thought the recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland could affect neighboring regions beyond the immediate vicinity of Grindavik. While 49.10% replied “yes,” 25.37% said “no,” and 25.53% were unsure.

During its last eruption in 2010, Eyjafjallajokull blocked European skies and led to the cancellation of 100,000 flights, leaving ten million passengers stranded. Hence, the respondents were asked  how likely it is that the recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland will lead to a similar disruption in air travel. Almost half felt it was extremely likely (49.67%), while 38.73% thought it was somewhat likely, 7.68% believed it was somewhat unlikely, and 3.92% considered it extremely unlikely.