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Exeter Airport closed by volcanic ash cloud

15/04/10 - 0 comments

All aircraft flying to or from Exeter Airport have now been grounded for the remainder of the day, and possibly longer due to the eruption of a nearby volcano.

Before you rush screaming from your homes trying to get away from Dartmoor (the UK's own Yellowstone style super-volcano) you should be aware the volcano that has caused all this fuss if actually in Iceland, a failry safe distance away for most of us.

The difficult-to-pronounce volcano Eyjafjallajokull has spewed massive amounts of rock and ash into the atmosphere, which is now starting to spread due to wind blowing south. By 12 o'clock the north of England was covered with the grey, talc like ash-cloud, hovering at about 55000ft - the same cruising altitude as your common-or-garden aeroplane.

The ash, although very fine, is particularly abrasive and can cause massive damage to airliners, clogging air intakes and overheating the engines.

What's more, as Iceland has a large amount of, well, ice, a lot of roads are actually getting washed away leaving people trapped, although most of the damage has only effected farmland.

So far the UK has not put together a disaster fund for the Icelanders affected, mainly because their pissing banks have got most of our money already.

Some good may come of this whole incident, as the MET office are predicting a particularly nice sunset tonight. Nice.

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