Iceland
The Blue Lagoon is temporarily closed as a series of earthquakes fuel fears of a volcanic eruption
One of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions has been closed after the Reykjanes Peninsula was hit by about 1,400 earthquakes in 24 hours, a “seismic swarm” that has sparked fears of an impending volcanic eruption.
The Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa southwest of Reykjavík, announced it would close for a week on Thursday after a particularly strong earthquake struck shortly after midnight, followed by about 800 smaller tremors.
Dozens of frightened guests reportedly fled the resort, which has two hotels, in taxis overnight after the earthquakes began. Icelandic news website Víkurfréttir reported that about 40 guests left overnight, adding that stones had fallen on the road to the hotel lobby.
The Blue Lagoon said it had made a “proactive decision to temporarily close its operations for a week” due to the “disruption” to guests on Wednesday evening and the “ongoing strain on our employees.”
“Blue Lagoon will closely monitor the evolution of seismic activity in the coming days and reassess the situation accordingly,” it said in a statement.
The Reykjanes Peninsula has been on alert in recent weeks after a period of seismic disturbances began on October 25, prompting the Icelandic Civil Protection Agency to issue an “uncertainty phase” warning – an alert level that refers to an event that has already begun and could result in an event that poses a potential threat to people, property, communities or the environment.
Since October 25, about 22,000 earthquakes have been measured in the seismic swarm, mostly in southwest Iceland.
On Thursday, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said it had recorded about 800 earthquakes since midnight, about 1,400 in the past 24 hours, and continued seismic activity was expected, but there was no evidence of volcanic eruptions.
Earlier this week, the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management announced an evacuation plan for Grindavík, just a short drive from the Blue Lagoon, should it be struck by a volcanic eruption or a large earthquake, including escape routes inside and outside the city.
Wednesday evening’s largest event occurred at 12:46 a.m. west of Mount Þorbjörn at a magnitude of 4.8, according to the Icelandic Met Office, and was the largest since the activity began on October 25.
The following major earthquakes – there were seven with a magnitude of 4 or greater – occurred at 12:13 a.m. about 4.2 km east of Sýrlingafell, one at 2:56 a.m. about 3 km southwest of Þorbjörn and one at 6 :52 pm east of Syrlingafell.
“As magma accumulation continues, seismic activity is expected on the Reykjavík Peninsula as magma intrusion leads to increased stress in the region,” a spokesman said.
They added: “The seismic activity last night and this morning is an example of the frantic seismic activity that can be expected while magma accumulation is underway.” The fact that there are now larger earthquakes in the region than before does not necessarily mean increased magma accumulation.”
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