COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Icelandic authorities have completed the evacuation of 3,000 residents of a town in the southwest of the country, fearing a volcanic eruption following a series of earthquakes and signs of magma spreading in the basement.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office said on Saturday there was a “considerable” risk of an eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula because the size of the underground magma intrusion and the speed at which it is moving are several times greater than expected. had been measured previously in the region.
This eruption could occur “at any time in the coming days”, he said at the end of the day, after noting a renewed seismic activity.
The Icelandic Civil Protection Agency ordered the complete evacuation of Grindavik, a nearby fishing town, on the night of Friday to Saturday, while emphasizing that it was not an emergency operation.
The Reykjanes region has seen several eruptions in unpopulated areas in recent years, but authorities deemed the current eruption to pose an immediate risk to the city.
On Thursday, increased seismic activity led to the closure of the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, one of the country’s top tourist attractions.
Reykjanes, located southwest of the capital Reykjavik, is a volcanic and seismically sensitive region. In March 2021, lava fountains gushed spectacularly from a 500 to 750 meter long fissure in the Fagradalsfjall volcanic system.
Volcanic activity in the area continued for six months that year, attracting thousands of Icelanders and tourists to the site. In August 2022, a three-week eruption occurred there, followed by another in July this year.
The Fagradalsfjall volcanic system, which is approximately 6 kilometers wide and 19 kilometers long, had remained dormant for more than 6,000 years before the recent eruptions.
(Reporting Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Louise Rasmussen, French version Benjamin Mallet and Tangi Salaün)
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