1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Fifty years ago today, a lava flow broke 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:09,000 Speaker 1: through the base of the Elfel volcano in the Westman 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: Islands in Iceland. The volcano had been erupting for weeks, 4 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: but this was a new development that threatened to harbor 5 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:19,599 Speaker 1: that was critical to the islands survival, so people started 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:23,120 Speaker 1: trying to slow the flow with water. So I love 7 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 1: this whole story in their episode on this volcano and 8 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: this effort to save the town and the harbor from 9 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,559 Speaker 1: destruction originally came out on June first. It is Today's 10 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: Saturday Classic, so enjoy. Welcome to Stuff you Missed in 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 1: History Class, a production of I Heart Radio. Hello, and 12 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:52,599 Speaker 1: welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracie Wilson. I'm Holly Frying. 13 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:58,720 Speaker 1: I went to Iceland. I know it was for fun 14 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 1: and not for work, which that's why you did not 15 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: hear any Iceland episodes before I went to there. I 16 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: also did not take any notes for the podcast while 17 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: I was there. But what I did do is get 18 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: immersed in a lot of Icelandic history, because it's just 19 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: about impossible to go to Iceland and not do that, 20 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: Like you would literally have to go into a hotel 21 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: and not leave or talk to anyone. Uh. There are 22 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,199 Speaker 1: lots of museums in Iceland and lots of historical sites 23 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: that are very easy to get to and visibly marked 24 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: from the road, so you kind of would would have 25 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 1: to work. It's the same little symbol as a command 26 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: key on a mac is this sort of point of 27 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,679 Speaker 1: interest sign in Iceland and a lot of other sort 28 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:44,119 Speaker 1: of Northern European countries, So it's very easy to find 29 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: things to learn about. And then sometimes you just take 30 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: a walk to give your camera battery a little bit 31 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: more time to recharge, and then you stumble across a 32 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: consecrated pool that's tied to both Iceland's Saga Age and 33 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,640 Speaker 1: historical events during the Reformation. It's just everywhere. That one 34 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: pool is just everywhere lurking. That one pool was behind 35 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: a guesthouse that we stayed at, and we literally had 36 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:11,799 Speaker 1: no idea there was anything interesting back there, and then there. 37 00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: It was one of the events that I learned about 38 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: that fascinated me the most, though, was from Iceland's much 39 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: more recent history than that particular serendipitous fond uh. And 40 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: it's really on the cusp of how recent we normally 41 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: get on the podcast, it is a massive and prolonged 42 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: volcanic eruption on the island of haym heads up that 43 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: every piece of non Icelandic video footage I have seen 44 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:40,640 Speaker 1: about this eruption pronounces it in some other way, like 45 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:45,280 Speaker 1: him or heymi or hay Me, But Hayma's closest to 46 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:47,640 Speaker 1: how I've heard people actually pronouncing it while I was 47 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: in Iceland. Hay May is a small island off of 48 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: Iceland's southern coast, and it's part of the vestman Are Archipelago, 49 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,960 Speaker 1: which is also known in English as the Westman Islands. 50 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:01,119 Speaker 1: And this eruption is what we are going to talk 51 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:05,680 Speaker 1: about today. Iceland is located on the mid Atlantic Ridge, 52 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: basically a long, mostly underwater volcanic mountain range that runs 53 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: all the way from the Arctic down towards the southern 54 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 1: tip of Africa. And this ridge exists because of the 55 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: divergence of tectonic plates. As the plates slowly move apart, 56 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: magma rises up and lava fills that gap that's created 57 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 1: gradually and sometimes suddenly, forming mountains. And most of this 58 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: happens under water, but in some places the resulting mountains 59 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: are tall enough to break through the surface of the ocean, 60 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: and this is the case with Iceland, which lies along 61 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: the North American and Eurasian plates. Iceland itself is a 62 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:43,760 Speaker 1: relatively young island, and in the grand scheme of things, 63 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 1: that really hasn't been inhabited for very long. The first 64 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: permanent settlement there was established in the ninth century. The 65 00:03:51,200 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: first written record of a volcanic eruption on Iceland is 66 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: from the tenth century, and volcanoes have been an ongoing 67 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: part of life in Iceland for all of the centuries 68 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,000 Speaker 1: since then. Iceland is home to well over a hundred 69 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: volcanoes and there are about thirty active volcanic systems. Thirteen 70 00:04:09,160 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: volcanoes have erupted since Iceland was settled, with the links 71 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: of the eruptions ranging from hours to months, and a 72 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: lot of people like to make the average one eruption 73 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:24,480 Speaker 1: every five years. This brings us to the Westman Islands. 74 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: This is a group of fifteen Ish islands. It depends 75 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 1: on how you classify them where that number exactly lands 76 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:33,919 Speaker 1: along with lots of smaller islets, including some of the 77 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,160 Speaker 1: youngest islands on Earth. One of these is the island 78 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: of Ceartcy, which was formed through volcanic activity in nineteen 79 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: sixty three, so very young certacy has been protected since 80 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: it was originally formed, allowing scientists to study the way 81 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:52,240 Speaker 1: species make their way to a new environment. Hey May 82 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: is the largest island in the West Bend Islands and 83 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: it's home to those islands only town, which is also 84 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:01,760 Speaker 1: called vestment Are. They're are a couple of summer homes 85 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,599 Speaker 1: on other islands in this archipelago, but hay May is 86 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: the only one that's inhabited year round by an actual 87 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 1: established community. Although it's the biggest island in the Westman Islands, 88 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: Hammy is still quite small. It's about five square miles 89 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:20,440 Speaker 1: or thirteen square kilometers. And there's a teen CNN article 90 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: that describes Hamy as quote a baron chunk of volcanic rock. 91 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: That is not an apt description. It is volcanic, it 92 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,160 Speaker 1: is rocky, but it is plenty green and there are 93 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,720 Speaker 1: birds everywhere, and in the summer months, it's actually home 94 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: to one of the biggest puffin populations in all of Iceland, 95 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:40,599 Speaker 1: so it is also adorable. I was just gonna say 96 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,240 Speaker 1: we should have a moment to pause so everyone can go, 97 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:47,200 Speaker 1: oh the puffins. I got the hold of puffin while 98 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: I was there. It was not a wild puffin. It 99 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,159 Speaker 1: was a rescued puffin. I did not go pick up 100 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: a puffin on a cliff. That would be bad Hamas 101 00:05:56,960 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: Coast is largely formed of tall cliffs with basalt stacks 102 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,479 Speaker 1: extending out into the ocean in the middle. It's flatter, 103 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: and before nineteen three it's most prominent feature in its 104 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:12,840 Speaker 1: relatively flat interior was the volcanic cone known as Halgafell. 105 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 1: I'm going to take a moment and mentioned that in Icelandic, 106 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:18,920 Speaker 1: an L at the end of the word makes a 107 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: sound that's classified as a voiceless lateral fricative. This is 108 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: not a sound that exists in English, and then two 109 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 1: l's in a row haven't even slightly different non English phony. 110 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:32,599 Speaker 1: Trying to replicate the sound throughout the podcast would be 111 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 1: extremely distracting because it's it's like you put your tongue 112 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: at the top of your mouth and then kind of 113 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 1: exhale a little bit. It sounds very sibilant and kind 114 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:45,800 Speaker 1: of tiskey, and it would be really distracting to hear 115 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:48,480 Speaker 1: two people that don't speak Icelandic try to do that 116 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:50,680 Speaker 1: for all of these volcano names. So We're just going 117 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: to say it the way it is spelled, which is 118 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:56,640 Speaker 1: more like Helga fell. So Helga fell, and the rest 119 00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: of the island of Hami is or I was believed 120 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:01,799 Speaker 1: to be a stinked or at least dormant by both 121 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: the residents of the island and scientists. There had been 122 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:09,280 Speaker 1: plenty of offshore eruptions of other volcanoes, including that one 123 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: that created the island of Surtsey a decade before this 124 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: story happened. There had also been plenty of eruptions on 125 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: the mainland of Iceland, but Helgafel had undergone no known eruptions. 126 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: Since the settlement of Iceland, everybody thought where they were 127 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: living was a pretty safe spot to be. On January one, three, 128 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,920 Speaker 1: a series of small seismic tremors rattled through southern Iceland, 129 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: with about two hundred seismic events over about fourteen hours. 130 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: Another shallower series of earthquakes started on the twenty second, 131 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: at around ten pm, and some of them could be 132 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,400 Speaker 1: felt on the island of Hamay, but all were small, 133 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: with the largest having a magnitude of about three. If 134 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: this had happened today, these earthquakes would have basically been 135 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,160 Speaker 1: a thirty hour heads up to the residents of Hamy 136 00:07:57,280 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: that something big was about to happen and they should 137 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: probably evact you eight. But at the time, the field 138 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,200 Speaker 1: of seismology and Iceland seismic network, we're a lot less 139 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: advanced than they are today. Seismologist didn't have a way 140 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 1: of pinpointing the epicenter of these little earthquakes, and those 141 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: that did think the sem seismic activity was a warning 142 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:18,160 Speaker 1: of something that was going to be in the form 143 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: of an eruption. We're more focused on Katla, which is 144 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 1: a volcano on the mainland, which is known to be 145 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: active and has in fact erupted more than twenty times 146 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: since Iceland was settled. But what this seismic activity was 147 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:36,040 Speaker 1: really foreshadowing was a massive eruption on Hamy itself, which 148 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:38,000 Speaker 1: we were going to talk about. But first we're going 149 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: to pause for a word from one of our fantastic sponsors. 150 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 1: When shaking and noise started on the island of Hamy 151 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,960 Speaker 1: at about two o'clock in the morning on January nineteen 152 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:00,679 Speaker 1: seventy three, the residents who know just it and had 153 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:03,679 Speaker 1: also felt the earlier earthquakes, thought this was just another one. 154 00:09:03,760 --> 00:09:06,600 Speaker 1: They're kind of like here we go again. What was 155 00:09:06,640 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: really happening, though, was that a fissure was opening up 156 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,560 Speaker 1: along the eastern side of Hamany, just over a thousand 157 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:15,040 Speaker 1: yards from the center of town, in about two hundred 158 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: yards from the edge of town. That's roughly nine hundred 159 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 1: meters and a hundred and eighty meters for those who 160 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:25,720 Speaker 1: are in the world of metric measurements. The fissure quickly spread. 161 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: It ran roughly southwest to northeast, stretching all the way 162 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,640 Speaker 1: from Hamy southern to its northern coasts and beyond, with 163 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: submarine volcanic activity going on at either end. At the 164 00:09:38,520 --> 00:09:41,440 Speaker 1: beginning of the eruption, a curtain made up of about 165 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,199 Speaker 1: forty fountains of molten lava launched out of this fissure, 166 00:09:45,280 --> 00:09:48,120 Speaker 1: which was incredibly dramatic, but not at least for a 167 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 1: first the first few hours, all that damaging a natural 168 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 1: slope of land kind of directed the falling lava away 169 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: from the town, and then favorable wind also at first 170 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:01,680 Speaker 1: kept most of the tefra, which is sort of a 171 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: catch all term for a volcanic material that was launched 172 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: into the air, kept most of the tefra from coming 173 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 1: toward the town, and this meant that even though the 174 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: residents of Haima had been taken completely by surprise by 175 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: the sudden appearance of a huge fissure and a curtain 176 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 1: of lava right next to their town on an island 177 00:10:22,040 --> 00:10:25,960 Speaker 1: believed to be volcanically inactive, they had time to evacuate 178 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,360 Speaker 1: before things became really dangerous. Volcanoes were aknown hazard, and 179 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:33,800 Speaker 1: Hamy and the mainland both had evacuation plans in place. 180 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: The evacuation itself was also aided by another stroke of 181 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:42,440 Speaker 1: incredibly good fortune that there were people that even described 182 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 1: as being providential. A storm had moved to the region 183 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,679 Speaker 1: on the twenty second, so Hammy's fishing fleet was all 184 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: safely docked at the harbor, along with some boats that 185 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: really worked from the mainland but had taken refuge in 186 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: Haimy when the gale blew in. In other words, the 187 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: island had a ready made evacuation fleet that was already 188 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 1: there in the harbor, which was at that point not 189 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:07,760 Speaker 1: being threatened by the erupting volcano thanks to the lay 190 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: of the land and the prevailing winds. The town's fire 191 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 1: department and police used horns and sirens to wake residents 192 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,960 Speaker 1: and inform them of the danger. Residents took what they 193 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,679 Speaker 1: could carry. They crowded into fishing boats to be taken 194 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:23,280 Speaker 1: to the mainland port of Thorlock Sutton and then on 195 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:27,080 Speaker 1: too Reikiavik, which is Iceland's capital, by bus. This was 196 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: a trip that, while not necessarily comfortable, was made safely 197 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: by all who were evacuated. Although the storm had passed, 198 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:38,199 Speaker 1: the water was still choppy, so seasickness was a problem. 199 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:40,320 Speaker 1: It also took a lot longer than it takes to 200 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 1: get to the mainland by boat today. Now there's a 201 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:46,720 Speaker 1: ferry terminal at Landia Hutton that's much closer to the island. 202 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,600 Speaker 1: People who were ill or elderly were mostly airlifted from 203 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: Hamany's airport to the Reikyovik and Keflavik airports on the mainland, 204 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:57,600 Speaker 1: which are about forty five minutes apart by car. The 205 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 1: evacuation flights used planes and helicas from the U. S 206 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:05,680 Speaker 1: Manned Iceland Defense Force and Iceland Air The evacuation was 207 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: completely successful, with about five thousand, three hundred people safely 208 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:12,839 Speaker 1: taken to the mainland, where they all met up in Reikiavik. 209 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: And this was a really calm and efficient affair. In 210 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 1: five or six hours, anyone who could leave the island 211 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,680 Speaker 1: had left the island, and from the boats people could 212 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: see this curtain of fire along the edge of the 213 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 1: town as well as under the water as they passed by. 214 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:33,679 Speaker 1: This makes me think of the contrast of how sometimes 215 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:36,199 Speaker 1: these things happened, and there's always that person that holds 216 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:40,679 Speaker 1: out and says they're not going to leave. But everyone 217 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:43,760 Speaker 1: left in a very order. There were a very few 218 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: people who stayed behind to basically fight the volcano, but 219 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: there was. It was a very calm evacuation. I think 220 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: the fact that a lot of the adults on the 221 00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:54,200 Speaker 1: island had been able to see the formation of certaincy 222 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:57,680 Speaker 1: to the south of them from the island, uh and 223 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:03,320 Speaker 1: like that had not endangered them, probably helped people stay calm. 224 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 1: I mean, people in Iceland seemed pretty pragmatic about volcanoes 225 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:12,079 Speaker 1: in a lot of ways, uh, from my experience in 226 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: ten days of being there. Later the government of Iceland 227 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: sent workers to remove cultural and historical artifacts from the island. 228 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 1: Four hundred head of livestock were also evacuated from the 229 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:29,079 Speaker 1: island because this was deep in the Icelandic winter. Kivik 230 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,439 Speaker 1: had a lot of hotel rooms available, so after being received, 231 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:36,679 Speaker 1: fed and temporarily sheltered at schools, Heym's residents who didn't 232 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: have family on the mainland were mostly housed in vacant 233 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 1: hotel rooms. Most of the residents did have family that 234 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:45,480 Speaker 1: they could stay with, though, so the housing needs that 235 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:48,080 Speaker 1: that needed to be provided by the government of the 236 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,079 Speaker 1: Government of Iceland turned out to be pretty minimal. At 237 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:53,240 Speaker 1: the same time, though, you can just sort of imagine 238 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,199 Speaker 1: how a close knit community of only a little more 239 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:58,800 Speaker 1: than five thousand people all living together on a little 240 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: island it is it was. Splitting people up, even if 241 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:04,760 Speaker 1: they were staying with family was still pretty traumatic for 242 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:09,319 Speaker 1: the community itself. The Government of Iceland created and funded 243 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,200 Speaker 1: an emergency relief fund for people who had been displaced 244 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 1: by the volcano. They requested prefabricated housing from Sweden, Canada 245 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: and Norway in order to build temporary housing on the 246 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 1: coast so the people from Hamy who had made their 247 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:26,720 Speaker 1: living in fishing could continue to work and hopefully lower 248 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: the impact on Iceland's economy by the disruption in Hamy's 249 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: fishing industry. For the next few months, the only people 250 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: on Hamy would be the very few people who couldn't 251 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: leave because of something related to their jobs, like say that, 252 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: people who kept really critical things running uh and the 253 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 1: people who were trying to save the town, as well 254 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 1: as scientists, some of whom were from Iceland and somewhere 255 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:50,560 Speaker 1: from elsewhere, who came in to study the eruption in progress. 256 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:56,600 Speaker 1: Not long after this very well organized evacuation was complete, 257 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:00,920 Speaker 1: lava stopped erupting from most of the fissure, concentrating itself 258 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:05,200 Speaker 1: primarily in one roughly central portion of it. Cinders and 259 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,360 Speaker 1: debris from this eruption started to form a cone, which 260 00:15:08,400 --> 00:15:11,960 Speaker 1: would eventually be named eld Fell or Fire Mountain. Within 261 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:14,960 Speaker 1: a couple of days, eld Felt grew to one ten 262 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:20,120 Speaker 1: yards or one ds tall. However, the narrowing of the 263 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:22,720 Speaker 1: eruption from a curtain too more like a cone, did 264 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 1: not mean it was any less destructive. It was actually 265 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:28,880 Speaker 1: the opposite that was true. The favorable wind that had 266 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: kept the volcanic debris mostly away from the town during 267 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:36,080 Speaker 1: the evacuation shifted, which sent Tefra burning cinders and lava 268 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:39,360 Speaker 1: bombs toward homes and other buildings. Some of these buildings 269 00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:44,120 Speaker 1: immediately caught fire. Others were buried and crushed and falling tefra. 270 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 1: Some were just crushed under the weight of volcanic material, 271 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: even if they were spared from catching fire. Emergency crews 272 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:54,600 Speaker 1: cleared debris off of roofs to try to keep them 273 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:58,080 Speaker 1: from collapsing and propped them up from the inside. They 274 00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 1: put corrugated iron over window is on the volcanic side 275 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:03,520 Speaker 1: of the buildings to try to keep volcanic bombs from 276 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: shattering them and setting houses on fire from the inside, 277 00:16:07,240 --> 00:16:09,800 Speaker 1: and they erected barriers along one side of the lava 278 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: field in the hope of slowing its progression. Moving into 279 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:17,880 Speaker 1: February of ninety three, the cone continued to grow. It 280 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: roughly doubled in height by the middle of the month, 281 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:24,360 Speaker 1: A very steep rim started to form on one side 282 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 1: of Eldfell thanks to a combination of wind and falling tephra. 283 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: A lake of lava started to form in the middle 284 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,600 Speaker 1: of the cone also, and soon pressure from the lava 285 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: lake combined with the wind and caused this increasingly steep 286 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:40,800 Speaker 1: rim to collapse. The collapsing wall in the mountain rolled 287 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,240 Speaker 1: across the eastern side of the town and buried a 288 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:47,640 Speaker 1: number of houses. At about this time, the volcano also 289 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:52,680 Speaker 1: started to emit increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. 290 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: Air around the volcano became progressively more dangerous to breathe. 291 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:00,280 Speaker 1: Birds and other animals began to die as the build 292 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,640 Speaker 1: up of gases in the air became poisonous. According to 293 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,159 Speaker 1: the museum now located on the site of the eruption, 294 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:09,840 Speaker 1: poisonous gases were the cause of the soul human fatality 295 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:13,960 Speaker 1: directly tied to this eruption. At about at the same 296 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:17,280 Speaker 1: time as Eldfell's rim collapsed and buried more of the town, 297 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: the lava flow from the volcano shifted directions as well. 298 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:25,000 Speaker 1: A submarine lava flow broke a cable and a pipeline, 299 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 1: which were responsible for carrying electricity and drinking water from 300 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,679 Speaker 1: the mainland to the island. On top of that, lava 301 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,360 Speaker 1: started to threaten the islands. Port Hayman had a natural 302 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 1: harbor that was sheltered on one side by a cliff, 303 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,199 Speaker 1: and this harbor was critically important to both the islands 304 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:45,720 Speaker 1: and Iceland's economy. If the volcano filled in or blocked 305 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 1: the harbor, it would become vastly harder to get people 306 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:52,120 Speaker 1: and supplies on and off the island for the remediation 307 00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: and cleanup efforts as well. This meant that Haymany needed 308 00:17:56,760 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 1: a way to fight back against this volcano, and we're 309 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,199 Speaker 1: going to talk about that, but first we will pause 310 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:15,280 Speaker 1: for another sponsor break. As we alluded to before the break, 311 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:18,280 Speaker 1: Haymy was home to a protected harbor that was critically 312 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 1: important to the little island's survival. Was one of two 313 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,880 Speaker 1: ways to get on and off the island, the other 314 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:28,400 Speaker 1: being Hami's airport. On top of that, fishing was one 315 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:32,800 Speaker 1: of Hammy's most important industries, and Hammy's fishing industry was 316 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:36,520 Speaker 1: also extremely important to Iceland's fishing industry as a whole. 317 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:41,480 Speaker 1: Twenty of Iceland's fish processing plants were located on the island, 318 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: So without a working port, the island of Hammy would 319 00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:48,520 Speaker 1: be far less habitable and far less economically sustainable once 320 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:52,440 Speaker 1: the eruption eruption was over, and really if if Hamy's 321 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:54,399 Speaker 1: fishing industry was destroyed, that was going to be a 322 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: huge problem for Iceland's economy as well. Real threats to 323 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:02,280 Speaker 1: the port began February eleventh, when a huge flow of 324 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: lava broke through Eldfell's base. It was about twenty meters 325 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 1: wide and twenty meters tall, and it threatened to fill 326 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 1: in the harbor. At this point, cargo planes had to 327 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:16,040 Speaker 1: be requested to transport heavy earth moving equipment onto the 328 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: island because this flow of lava meant the harbor could 329 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: no longer accommodate boats large enough to carry them. It 330 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:24,640 Speaker 1: was basically making the harbor shallow weer, so the only 331 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:27,199 Speaker 1: things that had a shallower draft could really get in 332 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 1: and out of there. In an effort to cool the 333 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:33,160 Speaker 1: lava and slow it down, crews started spraying it with water, 334 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:36,639 Speaker 1: first from the town's fire trucks using the municipal water supply. 335 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: Then a pumping ship was requested from the United States, 336 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:43,800 Speaker 1: which would continue to draw water from the municipal supply. Basically, 337 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:48,359 Speaker 1: the municipal water supply was the big volcano fighting power 338 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:51,840 Speaker 1: source until the lava we mentioned earlier broke that pipeline 339 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:55,520 Speaker 1: that had been carrying the water from the mainland, so 340 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,200 Speaker 1: the decision was made at that point to try seawater. 341 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: The government of Iceland requested more pumping equipment from the 342 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:05,120 Speaker 1: United States, and in the end were than nineteen miles 343 00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:08,960 Speaker 1: that's thirty kilometers of pipe and forty three pumps operated 344 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 1: by seventy five workers. At the peak of the operation, 345 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 1: hurled water at the advancing lava in the hope of 346 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:18,000 Speaker 1: cooling it down. Some of this work, and other work 347 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:20,520 Speaker 1: associated with trying to salvage as much of the town 348 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:24,359 Speaker 1: as possible, was incredibly dangerous due to the proximity to 349 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,199 Speaker 1: the volcano, as well as the poisonous gases in the 350 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,720 Speaker 1: air and the decreased visibility due to steam from cooling 351 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 1: operations and blowing ash and cinders. Over the next few months, 352 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:40,760 Speaker 1: an estimated five point five million tons of seawater were 353 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,479 Speaker 1: used to try to cool the lava down and divert 354 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 1: it away from the harbor and later from the town 355 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:49,439 Speaker 1: as well. Basically, the lava heated up the water, making 356 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:53,080 Speaker 1: lots and lots of steam and cooling off in the process. 357 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:57,359 Speaker 1: As it cooled, the lava hardened, eventually making a wall 358 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:01,400 Speaker 1: that molten lava could could creep over but not really breakthrough. 359 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:05,840 Speaker 1: So as this creeping lava would sort of top the 360 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:09,879 Speaker 1: solid layer, they would spray that part to make this 361 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:15,879 Speaker 1: increasingly tall wall of of hardened lava. There are some 362 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:18,359 Speaker 1: people who will argue that we can never really know 363 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,320 Speaker 1: if this worked, because who knows how the lava would 364 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: have behaved without all of this human intervention. However, the 365 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:29,119 Speaker 1: lava flow was stopped one ten yards or a hundred 366 00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:32,639 Speaker 1: meters short of blocking the harbor, and its progress was 367 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 1: slowed through the town as well. However, several of Iceland's 368 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: fish processing plants were destroyed before the water project could 369 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:42,200 Speaker 1: really begin. Yeah, I feel like some of the people 370 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 1: who are like, well, the lava could have completely shifted course, 371 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: we'll never know. I feel like they're just kind of 372 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:54,240 Speaker 1: naysayers wanting to say nay about it. The eruption was 373 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:58,120 Speaker 1: declared over on July third, nineteen seventy three, and had 374 00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:00,399 Speaker 1: been slowing down for a while, but that was really 375 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:03,399 Speaker 1: five months. It was more than five months after it 376 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,680 Speaker 1: had started. Water cooling operations stopped on the tenth of July, 377 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:12,120 Speaker 1: and schools were reopened that fall. It's estimated that two 378 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:15,479 Speaker 1: hundred million tons of ash and lava fell in and 379 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:19,480 Speaker 1: around hey May during the eruption. Eldfell grew to a 380 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 1: height of six hundred and fifty six feet that's two 381 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,359 Speaker 1: hundred meters. About a third of the town was destroyed, 382 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,320 Speaker 1: not all of the five thousand, three hundred people who 383 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:32,359 Speaker 1: had evacuated returned. The population today is only four thousand, 384 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:35,200 Speaker 1: five hundred, so it is still below its nineteen seventy 385 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:39,080 Speaker 1: three pre volcano level. Yeah, there are still houses that 386 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:41,040 Speaker 1: are are buried, and a lot of the people who 387 00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:45,600 Speaker 1: didn't return where people whose houses were under so much, uh, 388 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: so much volcanic debris that they were like, it's never 389 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:52,560 Speaker 1: gonna get dug out, and even if it is dug out, 390 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: everything that is in there is crushed. Uh. However, all 391 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 1: of that lava and tafra did wound up having some 392 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,200 Speaker 1: favorable impacts on the island. I mean, there was definitely 393 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:09,439 Speaker 1: a huge loss of property, fortunately not a loss of 394 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:13,639 Speaker 1: human life other than the one person um who was 395 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:16,920 Speaker 1: killed because of the poisonous gases. But the lava flow 396 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,119 Speaker 1: that almost blocked the harbor was made into a breakwater 397 00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:23,120 Speaker 1: and it now provides more shelter for the harbor from 398 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:26,639 Speaker 1: a direction that it had previously been exposed to. This 399 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: huge increase in volcanic material on the island also provided 400 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:33,880 Speaker 1: a much needed source of landfill. Previously, if they had 401 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: needed to fill land in any way, they would have 402 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:41,359 Speaker 1: to sort of have earth shipped in on a boat, 403 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: which was not very practical UM, and the cooling lava 404 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,240 Speaker 1: under the surface of the island is now one of 405 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:51,800 Speaker 1: the island's primary sources of heat and hot water. In 406 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:55,439 Speaker 1: two thousand five, the town council of Vestmaner agreed to 407 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,840 Speaker 1: excavate some of the houses that were still buried. Lots 408 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: of comparisons were made to Pompeii under that ash. Some 409 00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:04,720 Speaker 1: of the homes were still intact, and even the ones 410 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:08,040 Speaker 1: that were crushed still contain most of their owner's possessions. 411 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 1: A museum, Eldheimar opened in two thousand fourteen, and its 412 00:24:12,600 --> 00:24:16,320 Speaker 1: centerpiece is one of the homes that was crushed volcanic debris. 413 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: And all that museum is really cool. We should go 414 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:25,639 Speaker 1: you've already been, and I'll just go. Yeah, if you 415 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,159 Speaker 1: if you are in Iceland, you can get to Hayma 416 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 1: from a brief a brief air plane, a little airplane, 417 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:36,879 Speaker 1: little airplane. Little airplanes still make me kind of nervous, 418 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: so I personally like the ferry. The ferry is about 419 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:45,160 Speaker 1: half an hour UM and this particular we didn't really 420 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:49,200 Speaker 1: plan an itinerary beyond our lodging. We didn't we didn't 421 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 1: plot out day by day what we wanted to do, 422 00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:53,960 Speaker 1: and so we were staying somewhere not far away, and 423 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,119 Speaker 1: I realized that this volcano or this volcano museum was 424 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,080 Speaker 1: on the island and said, hey, do you want to 425 00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: take the ferry and check this out? And we did. 426 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 1: It's very good, true. So yeah, that's that's how basically, 427 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:14,119 Speaker 1: uh people fought a volcano, and mostly one using what 428 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:16,800 Speaker 1: feels to me like a child's logic of can't we 429 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:26,760 Speaker 1: just spray this with water and cool at all? Thanks 430 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:29,480 Speaker 1: so much for joining us on this Saturday. Since this 431 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 1: episode is out of the archive, if you heard an 432 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 1: email address or a Facebook U r L or something 433 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,320 Speaker 1: similar over the course of the show, that could be 434 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:41,200 Speaker 1: obsolete now. Our current email address is History Podcast at 435 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,720 Speaker 1: i heart radio dot com. 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