Huge cracks appear on roads in Icelandic town at risk of volcanic eruption
Authorities fear the Iceland volcano could erupt with just 30 minutes notice as the country’s Meteorological Office (IMO) warned magma may have reached very high up in the Earth’s crust.
Kristín Jónsdóttir, head of department at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said people will “just have to wait in suspense for the next few days” to see how events play out.
She said the decreasing earthquake activity over the last 24 hours could be a sign that magma has reached very close to the earth’s surface, adding that the scenario is not unlike what was seen prior to a previous eruption in 2021.
Authorities fear they could get as little as “30 minutes notice” before the anticipated volcanic eruption. “All the big signs are already there, so we are looking for the small signs, the signs that say that even though we are monitoring very closely,” Vídir Reynisson, chief of civil protection added.
The Met Office said magmatic gas has been detected at a borehole in Svartsengi, signalling an imminent eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano over the coming days, with the town of Grindavik most at risk.
Icelandic Met Office warns of ‘significant crustal uplift’
The Icelandic Met Office has warned of “significant crustal uplift” in the area of Svartseng.
The review of the images by experts comes as Iceland has been recording between 1,500 and 1,800 daily earthquakes in recent days.
Tara Cobham21 November 2023 08:06
When will Iceland volcano erupt and what happens when it does?
As an imminent eruption looms thousands of Iceland residents await their fate as their town could be wiped out within days.
Some 3,400 residents from the town of Grindavik which lies on the path of the expected fissure vent eruption were forced to evacuate, they described the ‘apocalyptic’ scenes of their much-loved home town as they briefly returned to collect their belongings.
Tara Cobham21 November 2023 07:44
Iceland volcano eruption warning forces residents in Grindavik to evacuate
Iceland volcano eruption warning forces residents in Grindavik to evacuate
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar21 November 2023 07:00
Iceland residents told they face months away from home
Experts have revealed the likely eruption site of a volcano in Iceland, as authorities warn evacuees they may not return home for months.
The forecaster said magmatic gas has been detected at a borehole in Svartsengi, signalling an imminent eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano over the coming days.
“Hagafell is thought to be a prime location for an eruption,” the forecaster said.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar21 November 2023 06:30
Iceland earthquakes: Are flights still running amid fears of volcano eruption?
Simon Calder21 November 2023 06:00
Icelandic authorities race against time to fortify power plant
Authorities in Iceland have ordered the construction of two giant walls to protect a power plant in the event of an imminent volcanic eruption as they fear the situation could change with “little warning”.
One wall was made 26ft high to fortify the Svartsengi power plant, while construction for another 2.4-mile semi-circle wall was underway just above the small town of Grindavik.
Vidir Reynisson, chief of civil protection and emergency management, told The Mirror that their biggest challenge was to save the power plant from the lava.
“We have plans for the electricity but still there is a lot of challenge around the hot water,” he said.
“If we were to put electric heaters in all the homes in the area we would drain the power system just for that.”
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar21 November 2023 05:30
Iceland Met Office updates danger zone in new map
The Icelandic Met Office (IMO) on Monday updated its hazard assessment map for the area of Grindavik and Svartsengi based on satellite images.
The danger zone compared to the previous maps has been expanded to include three broad categories.
A very high danger zone measuring about 2-3km across is marked in purple, while the area around it in red denotes high risk and yellow is moderate.
The highest risk zone in the centre of the 15km-long rift is marked with a dashed red line.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar21 November 2023 05:00
When will the Iceland volcano erupt?
As an imminent eruption looms thousands of Iceland residents await their fate as their town could be wiped out within days.
Thousands of earthquakes rocked the southwestern peninsula of Reykjanes on Saturday 11 November leading semi-molten rock to ravage below the surface as the tremors caused a 15km long dyke to form, cracking the community in two as the ground was pushed upwards.
The whole population waits in limbo as they fear the fate of their close-knit community, many have already lost their homes whilst others do not know if their residencies still stand as earthquakes have continued to strike.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar21 November 2023 04:30
Is it safe to travel to Iceland? Your rights if you have a holiday booked
The earth is at its most restless in Iceland right now. The Reykjanes peninsula, southwest of Reykjavik, is seething with seismic activity sparking hundreds of small earthquakes.
The town of Grindavík, just 10 miles south of Keflavik International Airport, has been evacuated as a precaution.
Yet flights are continuing to arrive and depart as normal. These are the key questions and answers on consumer rights.
Simon Calder21 November 2023 04:00
Icelandic authorities fear sudden volcano eruption
Authorities in Iceland said they could get as little as “30 minutes notice” before the anticipated volcanic eruption near the small fishing town of Grindavik in the southwest of the country.
“The challenge that we have is that we will not see any strong evidence that the magma is coming up, we will see some small earthquakes and we can see how they will probably form in one place rather than another,” Vídir Reynisson, the head of the civil protection and emergency management agency, told Fox News.
“We will maybe get a 30-minute notice before the eruption starts. That is what we are working with.”
“All the big signs are already there, so we are looking for the small signs, the signs that say that even though we are monitoring very closely, it could be 30 minutes or less from now on until the eruption starts, but that could go on for days or weeks,” he added.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar21 November 2023 03:30