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Volcanic eruption could destroy Icelandic fishing town, say experts | Volcanoes News<\/p>\n
Authorities have already evacuated Grindavik in the country\u2019s southwest after a series of tremors.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Authorities in Iceland have completed the evacuation of some 3,700 residents of a fishing town experts believe could be destroyed by the eruption of a nearby volcano.<\/p>\n The town of Grindavik on the country\u2019s southwestern coast was evacuated after magma shifting under the Earth\u2019s crust caused hundreds of earthquakes in what was believed to be a precursor to an eruption.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are really concerned about all the houses and the infrastructure in the area,\u201d Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland\u2019s Civil Protection and Emergency Management told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n The town \u2013 around 40km (25 miles) southwest of Reykjavik \u2013 is located near the Svartsengi geothermal plant, the main supplier of electricity and water to 30,000 residents on the Reykjanes Peninsula, as well as a freshwater reservoir.<\/p>\n Grindavik is also near the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa resort, a popular tourist destination which closed as a precaution earlier this week.<\/p>\n \u201cThe magma is now at a very shallow depth, so we are expecting an eruption within a couple of hours at the shortest, but at least within a couple of days,\u201d Reynisson said.<\/p>\n The most likely scenario would be a fissure opening in the ground near Grindavik.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a fissure that\u2019s about 15km [9.3 miles] long, and anywhere on that fissure we can see that an eruption could happen,\u201d Reynisson said.<\/p>\n However, he did not rule out the possibility of an eruption on the ocean floor, which would likely cause a large ash cloud.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not the most likely scenario, but we can\u2019t rule it out because the end of the\u2026 fissure goes into the sea,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The quakes and ground lift caused by the magma intrusion have already caused damage to roads and buildings in Grindavik and its surroundings.<\/p>\n A large crack also tore up the greens on the Grindavik golf course, an image widely shared on social media networks.<\/p>\n Iceland, which has 33 active volcanic systems, has declared a state of emergency and ordered the mandatory evacuation of Grindavik on Saturday.<\/p>\n Emergency shelters and help centres have opened in several nearby towns, but most Grindavik residents were staying with friends or relatives, media reported.<\/p>\n Three eruptions have taken place on the Reykjanes peninsula in recent years near the Fagradalsfjall volcano: in March 2021, August 2022 and July 2023 \u2014 all far from any infrastructure or populated areas.<\/p>\n The Earth\u2019s crust has been fractured \u201cso much over the past three years\u201d by those eruptions, \u201chelping magmatic fluids in finding their path faster\u201d, said Icelandic Met Office\u2019s (IMO) volcanic hazards coordinator Sara Barsotti.<\/p>\n Prior to the March 2021 eruption, the Reykjanes peninsula had been dormant for eight centuries.<\/p>\n Volcanologists believe the new cycle of increased activity could last for several decades or centuries.<\/p>\n Situated in the North Atlantic, Iceland straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.<\/p>\n A massive eruption in April 2010 at another Iceland volcano \u2013 Eyjafjallajokull, in the south of the island \u2013 forced the cancellation of some 100,000 flights, leaving more than 10 million travellers stranded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0635\u062f\u0631<\/a>
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