In the aftermath of an eruption, volcanic activity in southwest Iceland appears to have subsided. The day before, a volcano erupted near the fishing port of Grindavik in the south-west of the country. "The night was uneventful," said Hjördis Gudmunsdóttir, spokesman for Iceland's Civil Protection.
"We went to observe (the eruption site) and we can say" that the lava flow is less important. The movement of magma from the second, smaller fissure appears to have stopped, she told Iceland's public broadcaster. After the eruption, two fissures opened, one of which was at the edge of the first houses, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO).
The lava flow reached the port city, which was already in poor condition due to cracks in roads and cracked public buildings, setting fire to three empty homes. The few dozen residents who had resettled in Grindavik at the end of December had been evacuated as a matter of urgency the day before.
The city evacuated in November
The city, which is usually home to nearly 4,000 residents, was evacuated for the first time on November 11 as a precaution after hundreds of earthquakes caused by the movement of magma under the earth's crust. This is a precursor to a volcanic eruption.
They were then able to return to their homes briefly shortly after the December 18 eruption and permanently on December 23, but only a few dozen residents chose to resettle in Grindavik. While many residents are reluctant to return to live there, others, interviewed by AFP, are not ready to abandon their "wonderful community".
"We don't know if there will be more eruptions"
"I want to rebuild the city, it's a beautiful city, there are great people and it's really good to raise children here," says Páll Thorbjörnsson, a real estate agent in his fifties who lived in Grindavik for 43 years. For <>-year-old Erla Osk Petursdottir, the biggest challenge is "not knowing" how things will develop.
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"I want nothing more than to go back" to my hometown, but for now "we have to wait and see." "People are scared, we don't know if there will be more eruptions, more earthquakes," she said. Thirty-three volcanic systems are considered active in this land of fire and ice, the most volcanic region in Europe.