these clouds of ashes, i can literally do millions of dollars of damage to my aircraft. there s no upside to doing it. i know the passengers want to get there, but let s get them there safely, on time, and be able to use the equipment tomorrow. at the source of this disaster, iceland s volcano sent more smoke and ash billowing into the air today. let s check in now with our gary tuchm tuchman, who has spent the last several days near the base of the volcano. reporter: when you re on the wrong side of the iceland volcano, the ash turns a sunny day into a dark, foreboding one. this was what we saw during a drive just to the east of the volcano. it all depends on which way the wind blows. when we flew to the west of the volcano, we were just a few hundred feet away from it, but the skies were clear, the wind was blowing the other way. look at this volcano eruption, this close up is above awe-inspiring and frightening. it s been quiet since the 1820s. this volcano stopped erupting in
dangerous flight decades ago. today across much of europe, some 16,000 flights were grounded in nearly 20 countries. can you imagine the chaos that s caused? back in iceland close to the volcano, residents are on edge. gary tuchman is there with a 360 dispatch. reporter: he s a farmer. his family has owned this farm on the southern coast of iceland for 104 years. that s why this is a very traumatizing time. getting closer and closer to his land, as the wind has shifted, a plume of ash billowing larger and larger from the newly active volcano that looms over his farm. the eruption took place under a glacier causing the water under that glacier to flood much of his farm. translator: i was really scared. i was shocked afterwards. i was standing here and watched the water come. reporter: his family is feverishly building a dike in case more floodwaters pour down the mountain. but it s the approaching
reporter: he s a farmer. his family has owned this farm on the southern coast of iceland for 104 years. that s why this is a very traumatizing time. getting closer and closer to his land, as the wind has shichted, a plume of ash billowing larger and larger from the newly active that looms over his farm. the eruption took place under a glacier causing the water under that flashier to flood much of his farm. translator: i was really scared. i was shocked afterwards. i was standing here and watched the water come. reporter: his family is feverishly building a dike in case more floodwaters pour down the mountain. but it s the approaching v volcanic ash that s flightening so many others in iceland in a little over an hour s drive from the capital. people are sealing their windows and doors in hope the ash doesn t ruin their homes. the deputy is with the local police department. how scary is this for the
today. that s out of the normal 22,000. yesterday there were 10,000 flights. so it s not easy for anybody. some airlines saying we re not even going to fly today, tomorrow, or monday. we don t know when we re going to fly t.j. just terrible t. is terrible. like we said that volcano is still erupting, shooting ash into the air. we don t know if this will go away soon. appreciate it so much. that cloud of ashen volcano talking about is enormous. so big you can see it from space. this picture from nasa, if you live in iceland, a it s worrisome weekend with the ash cloud threatening to overtake homes and businesses. here s cnn s gary tuchman. reporter: this man is a farmer. his family owned this farm on the southern coast of iceland 104 years. that s why this is a very traumatizing time. getting closer and closer to his land as the wind shifted, a huge plume of ash billowing large are
a fiery volcano continues to cause air travel chaos across much of europe tonight. the eruption has created a massive amount of smoke and ash that airplanes cannot fly through. we ll tell you what happens to planes if they attempt to fly through the danger zone. we ll take you inside a dangerous flight decades ago. today across much of europe, some 16,000 flights were branded grounded and nearly 20 countries. can you imagine the chaos that s caused? back in iceland close to the volcano, residents are on edge. gary tuchman is there with a 360 dispatch. reporter: this man is a farmer. his family has owned this farm on the southern coast of iceland for 104 years. that s why this is a very traumatizing time. getting closer and closer to his land as the wind has shifted, a huge plume of ash billowing larger and larger from the newly active volcano that looms over his farm. the eruption took place under a glacier causing the water under that glacier to flood much of his farm. transla