WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 9 1996
Road rescue in full swing as flood wait continues
An engineering project which involved moving 4,500 cubic metres of gravel to
protect roads in the flood-threatened Skeidarásandur area of south Iceland is
nearing completion.
Another 2,000 cubic metres of gravel are to be collected to support and protect
roads which will take the brunt of a deluge of melted glacial ice from the
Vatnajökull eruption.
Bad weather in recent days has prevented scientists from flying over
Vatnajökull, but one pilot reported yesterday that the eruption was continuing
and that a column of smoke and ash was still billowing from the torn surface of
the glacier.
Hesitant floodwaters leave world's media high and dry
The continuing volcanic eruption under Vatnajökull glacier has attracted dozens
of foreign reporters to Iceland, but some are beginning to tire of waiting for the
promised flood of glacial meltwater.
A small army of overseas writers, photographers and technicians descended on
Iceland when news of the eruption broke, and many decided to stay when
scientists said massive flooding of the south of the country was imminent.
The flood, however, appears to heave been put on ice, forcing some journalists to
return home today. Most foreign reporters have decided to stay for a while
longer.
A stunning aerial photograph of the glacier spewing ash and smoke dominated a
recent front page of the British broadsheet The Independent. Coverage of Iceland
in general and the eruption in particular even made it into a leader in The Times.
TV crews were dispatched to Iceland from Germany's ARD and ZDF, NBC of
the U.S. sent a team, as did Reuters and the BBC.