Iceland has declared a state of emergency due to the threat of a volcanic eruption

Advertising:

Already on the morning of November 11, after the magma caused hundreds of earthquakes, the residents of the city began to be evacuated. According to experts, Grindavik can be severely damaged by the volcano.

Photo: Hafsteinn Karlsson/GettyImages

“Currently, the magma is at a very shallow depth, so we expect an eruption no later than in a couple of hours or in a few days.

We have a fissure about 15 kilometers long and an eruption can happen anywhere in the area of ​​the fissure“, said Viðir Reynisson, head of Iceland’s Civil Protection and Emergency Management Agency.

However, he did not rule out the possibility of an eruption on the ocean floor, which would likely produce a large ash cloud.

“This is not the most likely scenario, but we cannot rule it out, since the end of the crack goes into the sea“, he noted.

Advertising:

Earthquakes and upheaval caused by the magma eruption have already damaged roads and buildings in and around Grindavik.

Experts are surprised by the amount of lava and the speed with which it accumulates.

“What we are seeing now is an unprecedented event. We are talking about eruption rates and volumes that are much higher than we have seen on the peninsula so far” says Volcanic Hazards Coordinator Sara Barsotti.

In recent years, the Reykjanes peninsula near the Fagradalsfjätl volcano has experienced three eruptions: in March 2021, August 2022 and July 2023 – all of which were far from any infrastructure or populated areas.

Volcanologists believe that a new cycle of increased activity may last several decades or centuries.

Read also: “Due to the underwater eruption of a volcano in the Pacific Ocean, a new island was formed – scientists“

Iryna Bura, UP. Life