‘Terrifying’ Scenes As Florida Tourists Evacuate As Volcano Could Erupt

A couple’s experience in a popular tourist attraction didn’t go to plan when they were evacuated due to a volcano warning.
Florida native Ale Kenney, 30, and her husband Andrew were enjoying a relaxing time at the famous Blue Lagoon in Iceland when alarms were raised because of volcanic activity in the area.
“When we arrive and checked into the spa the man at the desk notified us that there was a potential for eruption and if we heard alarms quickly gather our things and exit,” she told Newsweek.
“We honestly thought it must be something they have to say every day so we were totally shocked when the alarm went off.”
In a viral video posted to TikTok, which has received 9.3 million views, Kenney documents the incident and shows crowds of people leaving the attraction, followed by shots of smoke and hot lava coming up from a mountain from a distance as they were driving away.
The couple eventually made it back onto their cruise ship, with Kenney saying in the video that she had “never been so happy” to be back on the boat.
They were making a stop in Iceland as a part of Royal Caribbean’s nine-month Ultimate World Cruise, on which they visited all seven continents and over 50 countries.
“Thankfully the employees at the Blue Lagoon were so professional and efficient at getting everyone out of there in a timely manner,” Kenney wrote in the video’s caption. “Very scary and definitely not on our Bingo card.”
“We had already been in the lagoon for close to two hours when the sirens started going off and the loudspeaker announced ‘This is not a drill, evacuate immediately,'” she explained. “We got out as fast as we could and employees were handing out towels (very quickly and efficiently but not panicked).
“They told us: ‘Do not shower, change as fast as you can and get to the parking lot.’ It took maximum of 30 minutes for us to be completely evacuated. We were with a group of friends so once we all got to our van we followed the flow of traffic and could actually start seeing the eruption and lava.”
The eruption happened on August 22 on the Icelandic Reykjanes peninsula. The island nation is between between Europe and North America, between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean.
The eruption, which started at around 9:30 p.m. local time, is the sixth since December 2023. Home to 32 volcano systems, Iceland had a famous eruption in 2010 and caused huge disruptions to air travel around Europe for about a month with volcanic ash posing major threats to flights.
“Minutes before the siren went off one of our friends joked, ‘wouldn’t it be crazy if the volcano erupted?’ So we all sort of stared at each other in disbelief for a moment before trying to exit the pool,” Kenney said.
“The bottom of the pool is slick because of all of the silica from the face masks so we couldn’t even run or get traction. But there was no confusion, it was clearly an emergency and we needed to get moving.”
The Blue Lagoon is one of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions. It is a geothermal spa holding 6 million liters of geothermal seawater which is said to have a number of benefits for your skin.
Underground lava makes the water in these pools hot, making it a popular leisurely bathing experience for visitors to the area.
Despite the evacuation, Kenney has fond memories of the Blue Lagoon. “Truly, we’d highly recommend Blue Lagoon. For about $100 we got use of the facilities, a face mask and an included beverage. Even with the eruption it was an amazing time,” she told Newsweek.
“We had thankfully already used the facilities for about two hours by the time the alarm went off so we weren’t personally worried about a voucher or anything like that. We did however get an email survey asking about their evacuation procedures which again I feel like they went above and beyond.”
Blue Lagoon says it is prepared for such incidents, as outlined on its website. “Since we are located in a seismically active area, changes in activity are to be expected. We always prioritize your safety and have detailed measures in place, if the need arises,” it says.
TikTok users took to the comments with their reactions. “I live in Iceland and the blue lagoon staff are good and get everyone out as quick as possible,” wrote @its_Gurra.
“terrifying but also exciting i need that experience,” Mila wrote.
One user with the name The Wicked Pumpkin said: “I was at the Blue Lagoon 6 hours before it erupted in December. I can’t imagine being in the water when it happened!”
Corinna commented: “I was at the Blue Lagoon 6 hours before it erupted in December. I can’t imagine being in the water when it happened!”
Meanwhile, @Thewanderer713 said: “How scary! At least you know they’re super safe though, and the monitoring does work and it definitely saves lives!”
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