Page 20 - 1821 News Today

Themselves so far very lucky. because the last eruption of this volcano was almost 190 years ago, his family hasnt dealt with something like this. he just doesnt know what to expect. >> translator: i dont know. you dont know. theres no way to know. >> reporter: what he does know is that this weekend will be tense. >> so, gary, what experts say, i mean, about how long this huge plume cloud of ash is going to be there and cause a threat? >> reporter: these experts know a lot, anderson, but they do...

Particular volcano erupted was in 1821. it was 190 years ago, and those eruptions lasted about two years. theyre sure hoping it doesnt last that long this time. whats happened from this volcano, it flooded the feedings because it happened under a glacier. youre seeing mud, muck, rocks, so far damage limited to the flooding. no fatalities and no injuries and the people of iceland consider themselves so far very lucky. because the last eruption of this volcano was almost 190 years ago, his family ...

Volcano in 1821 lasted two years. that would be big trouble. and icelanders, they know about the volcanos that happened in the 18th century. 9,000 people, a quarter of the population, were killed during the volcano back then. they do not expect fatalities during this but they expect the possibility of property damage. >> yeah, and that country already been hit hard economically. its the worst thing that could possibly happen and possibly causing problems for all of europe. boeing tells us in t...

Scared. i was shocked afterwards. i was standing here and watched the water come. >> reporter: his family is feverishly building a dike in case more floodwaters pour down the mountain. but its the approaching volcanic ash which can destroy home homes. so many others in iceland in a little over an hours drive from the capital. people are sealing their windows and doors in hope the ash doesnt ruin their homes. the deputy is with the local police department. how scary is this for the community, the...

>> airport hotels are overflowing. trains are facing unprecedented demand. the eurostar is fully booked until monday, and ferries are turning passengers away. >> front-runner for mondays boston marathon is stuck in paris. the norwegian prime minister is still stuck in new york, running his country from his ipad. >> here in iceland were used to volcanos. this one, by the way, the last time it went off was in 1821, almost 190 years ago. when it erupted, it lasted two years. theyre sure hoping it d...

Respiratory problems for people, fine ash settling down from the atmosphere and also the gases, if theyre in sufficient quantities can act as an irritant and, of course, fine grit in the air could jam up machinery engines and so on. >> you know, bill, our correspondent there on the ground, chris jansing was mentioning the cut low volcano, which is the big one, apparently, in iceland. a country that has some 35 active volcanoes and apparently when this one goes, the one that were currently experi...

>> reporter: what he does know is that this weekend will be tense. >> so gary, what do experts say, i mean, about how long this huge plume cloud of ash is going to be there and cause a threat? >> reporter: these experts know a lot, anderson, but they dont know enough to tell us how long it will last. usually when there are volcanos here in iceland and regularly volcanos in iceland dont last very long. but like i just told you, this volcano in 1821 lasted two years. that could be trouble. and vol...

Some roads have been washed away. the reason it is relatively clear here is because we are on the west side of the volcano and the winds, which are very heavy, very cold, are blowing in this direction. the plume of ash is on the other side of this mountain blowing towards europe. if the winds change and came to the west, this would be a very bad place for us to be. thats why we are keeping a very close eye and ear on what the meteorologists have to say. we talked to police authorities here. the ...

Thought wed be able to stand so close to the volcano, but this is it. this is where the volcano is. the volcano has erupted underneath a glacier. thats what you see. ice falls, a lot, mud, many of the farms have been flooded. some roads have been buckled. nobody has been killed, nobody has been hurt. and the reykjavik airport and three other international airports in the country all opened because of the threat of the volcano. to the east, thats where mainland europe is and thats why theyre havi...

Theres a town there under a lot of ash. no one has been hurt or killed. evacuated hundreds of people in the lightly populated area. there has been significant problems with flood waters because the volcano is under a glacier and causing floods. the main highway in iceland which is national route 1, a circle road that goes around the entire country, part of that is cut off. thats a significant issue. but its very amazing as you point out in the beginning the newscast hour. we flew into rec ka vic...