NEW ERA
Since October, hundreds of earthquakes have been detected on the Reykjanes peninsula, a potential precursor to an impending volcanic eruption.
Roughly 4,000 folks had been evacuated from Grindavik, a fishing port round 40km from Reykjavik, on Nov 11 after scientists decided {that a} tunnel of magma was shifting beneath them.
Residents instructed AFP the collection of small earthquakes – generally lots of per day – had broken roads and buildings.
Since then, they’ve solely been allowed to go to their houses throughout sure daylight.
Authorities have organised occasional journeys into the village, escorting these with houses in essentially the most perilous elements as they rescued the whole lot from cherished pets to photograph albums, furnishings and clothes.
Volcanic eruptions should not unusual in Iceland, which is house to 33 lively volcano techniques, the very best quantity in Europe. However the Reykjanes peninsula had not skilled an eruption for eight centuries till 2021.
Since then, three eruptions have struck, in 2021, 2022 and earlier this yr – all in distant, uninhabited areas.
Volcanologists say this might be the beginning of a brand new period of exercise within the area.
In 2010, the eruption of Iceland’s long-dormant Eyjafjallajokull volcano – an ice-capped volcano greater than 1,660 metres tall – shot large quantities of ash into the environment. That explosive eruption was not deadly, however compelled the cancellation of round 100,000 flights and left greater than 10 million travellers stranded.
Located within the North Atlantic, Iceland straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack within the ocean ground separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.