It has been difficult to keep up with the ever-changing updates on the vulkanutbrudd – volcanic eruption – that happened in Iceland last week. Uttbruddet of Eyjafjallajökull is being referred to by many as ”The world’s worst travel disaster in history. Thousands of flights have been delayed already and it is expected that flight travel will remain – no pun intended – ”up in the air” for weeks, months, maybe years to come. Literally decisions are being made on an hourly basis based on the location of the vulkanaske (volcanic ash) i luftet (in the air) and vindretningen (the wind direction).
On Thursday, as soon as vulkanaske drifted øst (east) and sør (south), most flytrafikk (flight traffic) in northern Europe came to a complete stop. The countries most affected by utbruddelse are the Nordic countries, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Estonia, and France. Askene (the ashes) have even reached as far øst as Russia. As you might imagine, all of the cancelled flights have caused quite a disturbance among travelers. People are crabby and the busser (buses), tog (trains), and drosjer (taxis) they are forced to take are extremely full.
This event really shows how global our world is and how much events in one country can severly impact the daily lives of people in other countries. Imagine waiting and waiting to get back home to your sick child after a weekend vacation in Oslo. Or maybe your father is on his deathbed and you can’t get there in time to say goodbye to him. Of course travel disruptions happen all the time, but this one has lasted 4 days no and some say the end is not in sight. I heard a brief interview with a man that works for NCAA (Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority) who said that Norway should expect to deal with complications for a long while to come.
In addition to travel disruption for ordinary civilians, emergency services are hindered. While ambulansefly og helikopter (ambulance plane and helicopter) are normally used i krisesituasjoner (crisis situations), båter og ambulanser (boats and ambulances) are being used instead, which is significantly lengthening the time it takes to get from A to B. This means, of course, that people’s lives are at greater risk.
Moreover, even though Norwegian Institute of Public Health has stated that there is very low risk of adverse health effects of askene i luftet (the ashes in the air), the WHO has advised that når det regner (when it rains), people should remain innendørs (inside) because the farlig (dangerous) particles that are currently in the upper cloud layers will come down with the regn (rain) and pose a risk to people’s lunger (lungs). Individuals with lungesykdommer (lung diseases), hjertesykdommer (heart disease), barn (children), and de gamle (the elderly) are the most at risk.
It will be very interesting to follow what happens with this vulkan. The effects depend wholly on the status of the vulkan. Let’s hope that it calms down soon and stops spewing asker i luftet. My thoughts go out to everyone who has been adversely affected by this incident.
