Why Iceland's lava is so hard to control - Arianna Soldati

Humans have been coexisting with volcanoes for centuries. Pre-existing barriers, such as city walls, have occasionally temporarily protected cities from lava flows. This was the case for the city of Catania during the 1669 Etna eruption, although the lava flows did eventually breach them and destroyed part of the town. Observe this painting from Giacinto Platania depicting the events. What can we infer and learn from it?

Fast forward four centuries: do you want to learn more about the epic effort to protect Grindavik? Watch this video about the construction of its barriers and hear directly from the people who made it happen! If you want to dig deep into engineering plans, you will find them in this paper.