Residents of the city of Grindavik, Iceland, threatened by a volcanic eruption, have to prepare for not being able to live in their homes for a long time. Authorities evacuated the city of around 3,700 people a week ago as a precaution following a series of earthquakes. Several houses were damaged, Civil Defense director Vidir Reynisson said yesterday, according to Icelandic broadcaster RUV.
Portal/Marko Djurica
The broadcaster quoted him as saying that due to continued uncertainty, people would have to prepare to live elsewhere in the coming months. British television channel Sky News showed aerial photos of the site, some of which showed cracks evident in the ground.
Iceland’s meteorological service believes liquid rock is likely to emerge from the magma tunnel in the country’s southwest, which has been active for weeks. In the past 24 hours, 1,700 earthquakes have been recorded, including about 1,000 since midnight, the online weather service reported yesterday afternoon.
Grindavik is located about 40 kilometers southwest of the capital Reykjavik and has been threatened by a possible volcanic eruption for days. Residents had to leave their homes a week ago because a 15-kilometer-long magma tunnel runs beneath Grindavik to the seabed. The nearby Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland’s most famous tourist attractions, had already been closed.