Hundreds of earthquakes in just a few hours – and the risk of a major volcanic eruption in southern Iceland.
This has caused the Icelandic authorities to evacuate all residents from Grindavík, roughly 40 kilometers south of the capital Reykjavik.
Seismic activity in the Reykjavík Bay area was at its greatest between 15 and 22 on Friday. A state of emergency was issued due to the tremors and the risk of a volcanic eruption, but it was only at 11pm on Friday that they decided to evacuate the community of Grindavík with just over 4,000 inhabitants.
The reason is that the Icelandic Meteorological Institute (IMO) discovered that magma formed a tunnel about five kilometers underground, and that this tunnel probably goes right under Grindavík.
“A significant amount of magma is moving there, much more than has been the case in volcanic eruptions in Reykjavík Bay in recent years,” writes the IMO.
Also evacuated personnel
The risk of a volcanic eruption is considered to be high. Icelandic authorities have been on emergency alert all night, and at 03:00 the decision was made to also evacuate rescue service personnel from Grindavík.
The earthquake in Grindavík on Friday was also felt in Reykjavik. The airport in nearby Keflavík has not yet been affected by the quake, with authorities on standby in case something happens.
According to the IMO, it is likely, but not certain, that a volcanic eruption will occur in the next few days.