Volcanic eruptions in Iceland

Anybody else seeing news about this?

They seem to have been able to evacuate the danger areas fast.
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=28304&ew_0_a_id=359636

Wow! Glad they got out of there QUICK!

My understanding is that they take their volcanic eruptions seriously in Iceland. The superheated lava connects with the ice of the glaciers and BAM - instant megaflood.

i followed that live on the Science Blogs last nite.guys over there going back and forth with science guys over here about what they were seeing on the graphs then one quick post "it erupted!!!' --lots more yack-yack and then links to news and webcam sites.it was better than any TV.

Nice overview, pretty pictures, and lots of related links:
http://scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2010/03/the_2010_fissure_eruption_at_e.php

I just heard a news update on the radio. The main concern right now isn't this eruption - they don't think it will cause any further problems. But eruption at this site usually triggers a bigger eruption of the neighbor volcano - and THAT volcano is covered by several hundred meters of ice. Somewhat extreme version of "flash flood".

Trouble is - they expect this eruption, but don't know when. Could be days, could be months. And flood water could rush through populated as well as totally unpopulated areas.

Iceland is well organized and they are very though - and there aren't too many of them. Fewer people means less people in the way and less organization whenever something happens. As they just demonstrated, they've got their system up and running. Iceland is probably one of the best communities in the worlds to deal with catastrophes.

Much emphasis is placed on individual preparedness but there are few things as effective as good community emergency management. Short of what a dedicated billionaire much be able to do there are limits to what individuals can accomplish.