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full screen An aerial view of Grindavik from January 15. Archive image. Photo: Marco Di Marco/AP/TT
After new warnings about possible volcanic eruptions in southwest Iceland, the residents of the small town of Grindavík have had to make short return visits to their homes.
A little over a quarter of the 3,800 residents have had six hours during the weekend to examine their houses and take possessions with them. The town was evacuated in December and since then the affected have only been allowed to return for short periods.
432 damage to houses in Grindavík has been reported, and of the 266 houses that have been inspected, 53 have been deemed completely destroyed. Then around 100 houses and a further 30 buildings remain to be inspected.
In recent days, the earth’s surface has risen near the sites of the previous eruptions in December and January, and warnings have been issued that another major eruption could come as early as the next few days. The authorities therefore warned ahead of the weekend that the short visits could be canceled at any time.
During Saturday, over 430 earthquakes were registered around Grindavík.
About 6.5 million cubic meters of magma has accumulated below the surface, according to calculations by Iceland’s meteorological authority.