Grindavik Iceland Evacuated in Anticipation Of Volcano Eruption

Thousands evacuated amid fears Icelandic volcano will erupt.

Iceland has declared a state of emergency and evacuated 4,000 people after a series of powerful earthquakes raised fears of a volcanic eruption.

Hundreds of tremors rocked the country’s south-western Reykjanes peninsula in what could be a precursor to a volcanic eruption near Sundhnjukagigar, less than two miles north of Grindavik.

The town, which is about 25 miles from Reykjavik, was evacuated yesterday. The Met Office said that 500 earthquakes had been registered in the area between 1800 GMT Friday and 0600 GMT today, including 14 over a magnitude of 4.0.

The Icelandic Met Office had initially said that an eruption would most likely take place “in several days rather than hours,” as magma had been observed accumulating under the Earth’s surface at a depth of about three miles for several days.
But late yesterday it observed that seismic activity was moving closer to the surface and magma was beginning to rise vertically toward the Earth’s crust between Sundhnjukagigar and Grindavik – suggesting an eruption could come sooner.

Authorities decided to evacuate the town after the Met Office said there was a “likelihood that a magma intrusion has extended beneath Grindavik”,

The town is near the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa resort, a popular tourist destination which closed temporarily earlier this week as a precaution.

Grindavik is also near the Svartsengi geothermal plant, the main supplier of electricity and water to 30,000 residents on the Reykjanes peninsula.

“At this stage, it is not possible to determine exactly whether and where magma might reach the surface,” The Met Office said.

It added that “the amount of magma involved is significantly more than what was observed in the largest magma intrusions associated with the eruptions at Fagradalsfjall”.

Three eruptions have taken place near Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes peninsula, in March 2021, August 2022 and July 2023 – all far from any infrastructure or populated areas.

Iceland has 33 active volcanic systems, the highest number in Europe.

It straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.

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