Latest news with #evacuation
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
Volcanic eruption in Iceland forces tourists to evacuate Blue Lagoon, as lava flows near town of Grindavik
A volcanic eruption in southwestern Iceland has once again forced the evacuation of tourists at the internationally known Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, the national broadcaster RUV reported. The eruption began around 4 a.m. following an intense seismic swarm on the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, Iceland's Met Office said. A campsite in the town of Grindavik was evacuated shortly after the seismic activity began. Guests at the Blue Lagoon were forced to quickly pack their bags, RUV reported. Lava from the eruption is flowing southeast from a fissure in the barren landscape that is about 2,300 to 3,300 feet wide, but the molten rock isn't threatening any infrastructure, the Met Office said. Grindavik has been repeatedly affected by the activity since November 2023 when a volcano in the area came to life after lying dormant for some 800 years. There were at least seven disruptive volcanic eruptions during 2024. But authorities said Wednesday that the town was not in danger. An eruption in early April also forced tourists to leave Blue Lagoon, and flames and smoke shooting into the air from the open fissure near Grindavik also prompted the evacuation of about 40 homes. Iceland sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic and is home to 33 active volcanic systems, more than any other European country. It is situated on top of a rift between two tectonic plates, which makes the island nation vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The most disruptive incident in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted transatlantic air travel for months.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Hotels say rooms sitting empty as Manitoba evacuees wait in shelter
As people forced from their homes by fires in Manitoba look for accommodations in hotels, rather than shelters, some hotels say they have space, but the rooms aren't being booked.
Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Associated Press
Southwestern Iceland volcano erupts, prompting evacuation of town and geothermal spa
LONDON (AP) — A volcanic eruption in southwestern Iceland has once again forced the evacuation of local residents and the internationally known Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, the national broadcaster RUV reported. The eruption began around 4 a.m. following an intense seismic swarm on the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, Iceland's Met Office said. The town of Grindavik was evacuated shortly after the seismic activity began, with campers and guests at the Blue Lagoon forced to quickly pack their bags, RUV reported. Lava from the eruption is flowing southeast from a fissure in the barren landscape that is 700 to 1,000 meters (2,296 to 3,280 feet) wide, but the molten rock isn't threatening any infrastructure, the Met Office said. Grindavik has been evacuated repeatedly since November 2023 when a volcano in the area came to life after lying dormant for some 800 years.
The Independent
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Ben Wallace takes ‘complete responsibility' for Afghan leak - but refuses to apologise for injunction
Sir Ben Wallace has said he takes complete responsibility for the catastrophic data breach which put the lives of up to 100,000 Afghans at risk. After the secret evacuation scheme, costing the taxpayer £7bn, was revealed, the former defence secretary said he makes 'no apology' for seeking the injunction which resulted in it being kept secret for almost two years. But, asked why the official responsible for the leak, in February 2022, Sir Ben said 'I take complete responsibility for the mistake that was made by that person... I was secretary of state for defence'. The leak exposed the details of thousands of Afghans who said they were in danger from the Taliban because of their links to UK forces and now wanted to escape to Britain. The blunder triggered a top secret government operation, codenamed Operation Rubific, which involved 16,000 Afghans being brought to the UK as part of Britain's largest covert peacetime evacuation, with some 8,000 still to come. The whole operation was kept secret from MPs and the public, with ministers even deciding to hide the true reason for the evacuation from parliament. Sir Ben said the decision to apply for the gagging order was 'not a cover-up' and that if the leak had been reported it would have 'put in peril those we needed to help out'. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said his government did not initially apply for a superinjunction to block reporting about the leak. Sir Ben said: "When we applied in August 2023, when I was secretary of state, we didn't apply for superinjunction. We applied for a four-month injunction, a normal injunction. 'I can't speak for the subsequent two years, why a four month injunction became a two-year superinjunction.' Sir Ben was defence secretary from Juny 2019 to August 2023. He defended his initial application for an injunction, adding: "But nevertheless, I think the point here is I took a decision that the most important priority was to protect those people who could have been or were exposed by this data leak in Afghanistan, living amongst the Taliban who had no regard for their safety, or indeed potentially could torture them or murder them. "That was my priority." It came as Defence Secretary John Healey said the person involved in the leak was 'no longer doing the same job'. A dataset containing the personal information of nearly 19,000 people who applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) was released 'in error' in February 2022 by a defence official. The Ministry of Defence only became aware of the breach when excerpts from the dataset were posted anonymously on a Facebook group in August 2023, and a superinjunction was granted at the High Court in an attempt to prevent the Taliban finding out about the leak. Writing in the Telegraph, Sir Ben said that when he was informed of the 'error' he was 'determined that the first priority was to protect all those that might be at risk'. 'I make no apology for applying to the court for an injunction at the time. It was not, as some are childishly trying to claim, a cover-up,' he said. 'I took the view that if this leak was reported at the time, the existence of the list would put in peril those we needed to help out. 'Some may disagree but imagine if the Taliban had been alerted to the existence of this list. I would dread to think what would have happened.' Sir Ben left office shortly after the then-government became aware of the breach, having announced some time earlier that he intended to step down as defence secretary. The leak led to the creation of a secret Afghan relocation scheme – the Afghanistan Response Route – in April 2024. The scheme is understood to have cost around £400 million so far, with a projected final cost of about £850 million. A total of around 6,900 people are expected to be relocated by the end of the scheme. It is understood that the unnamed official emailed the data outside a secure government system while attempting to verify information, believing the dataset to only have around 150 rows. However, more than 33,000 rows of information were inadvertently sent. Downing Street declined to say on Tuesday whether the official involved had faced disciplinary action or was still employed by the Government. Mr Healey later told the News Agents podcast that 'they are no longer doing the same job on the Afghan brief' and 'this is bigger than the actions of a single individual'. Pushed on whether anybody had lost their job, Mr Healey said: 'I'm actually not going to get into the personnel matters.' The injunction was in place for almost two years, covering Labour and Conservative governments. Mr Healey offered a 'sincere apology' on behalf of the Government in the Commons on Tuesday, and said he had been 'deeply uncomfortable' being unable to speak about it in Parliament. Kemi Badenoch said sorry on behalf of the Conservatives. Speaking to LBC on Tuesday evening, the Tory leader was asked whether she would apologise on behalf of the Conservatives who were in office at the time of the breach. She said: 'On behalf of the government and on behalf of the British people yes, because somebody made a terrible mistake and names were put out there… and we are sorry for that. 'That should not happen. And this is one of the tough things about, you know, being a minister, which is why even the Government – the Labour Government, now this didn't happen when they were in power – they are apologising as well.' Between 80,000 and 100,000 people, including the estimated number of family members of the Arap applicants, were affected by the breach and could be at risk of harassment, torture or death if the Taliban obtained their data, judges said in June 2024. However an independent review, commissioned by the Government in January 2025, concluded last month that the dataset is 'unlikely to significantly shift Taliban understanding of individuals who may be of interest to them'.
The Sun
6 hours ago
- The Sun
Volcano erupts on Iceland with magma spewing from huge new fissure as tourists evacuated from popular hols resort
TOURISTS are being evacuated amid another eruption from a notorious volcano in Iceland. Visitors were cleared from surrounding towns and a luxury hotel as lava began spewing from a huge new fissure in the Sundhnúkur volcano, near the popular town of Grindavik. 2 2 The eruption - the volcano's ninth since December 2023 - happened in the early hours of this morning just after the mass evacuation. Footage of the scene shows a boiling orange rip in the earth with a scorching sheet of magma flowing out. Lava and thick white smoke can be seen spewing up into the air. A campsite and the Blue Lagoon Iceland - a five-star hotel resort - were evacuated, along with most of the town of Grindavík. is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
