Iceland’s parliament has accepted a new tax on all housing for the subsequent three years to fund the development of lava barriers to defend infrastructure within the southwest of the nation, an space which is a hotbed of seismic exercise and has been bracing for volcanic eruptions over the previous days.
The law, handed in a single day with 57 votes in Iceland’s 63-member parliament, levies a short lived property tax of 0.0008 p.c on properties, and is predicted to generate almost 1 billion ISK (€6.5 million) in income.
The funds raised will likely be used to construct protections corresponding to dikes, embankments and canals round Svartsengi, a geothermal energy station positioned on the southern Reykjanes peninsula, about 65 kilometers from the capital, Reykjavík. The energy station is the primary provider of water and electrical energy to the peninsula.
The area has recorded 1000’s of earthquakes in current days, with seismologists warning a volcanic eruption is imminent. Grindavík, a small fishing city with 3,000 residents shut to the ability station, was evacuated over the weekend, with photos exhibiting giant fissures operating by way of the streets and cracks in buildings.
Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir warned on Sunday that even with protecting measures, stopping injury from a volcanic eruption may not be potential.
“Of course, this is complicated because we don’t know where a possible eruption can occur,” she mentioned. “Such an action would be a preventive action, but it cannot be guaranteed that it will be successful.”
Despite the depth of earthquakes reducing, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said on Monday there was nonetheless a “significant likelihood” of a volcanic eruption involving the Fagradalsfjall volcano, round 40 kilometers from Reykjavík, in coming days.
