Status: 11.11.2023, 15:57 PM
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The access road to the Blue Lagoon has been closed to avoid incidents in the area in the event of a possible volcanic eruption. © Raul Moreno/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Three years in a row, there has been a volcanic eruption in Iceland. At that time, thousands of earthquakes announced the eruption - this is now the case again. This time, however, the situation seems riskier.
Grindavík - In Iceland, numerous earthquakes have fueled fears of a volcanic eruption. To be on the safe side, the village of Grindavík with about 3700 inhabitants was evacuated. The nearby Blue Lagoon, the island's biggest tourist attraction in the North Atlantic, was also closed.
Because of the so-called earthquake swarm, the police declared a dangerous situation. This level of the warning system means that the authorities see an increasing danger and measures are being taken to ensure the safety of people in the area.
"There has been enormous damage to houses and infrastructure, but this can all be repaired," Icelandic President Gudni Th. Jóhanesson told broadcaster RUV on Saturday. "But we are grateful that there were no casualties," said Jóhanesson. Pictures showed long cracks in roads, on the golf course of Grindavík the earth opened up in some places meters wide. The place resembled a ghost town, no one was allowed inside.
More than 400 earthquakes since midnight
Since midnight alone, authorities have recorded more than 400 earthquakes in the area on the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest of the capital Reykjavik. Of these, 15 had a magnitude greater than 3.0 and 2 had a magnitude greater than 4.0, RUV reported. Bjarki Kaldalóns Friis, from the meteorological agency, said the number of tremors had decreased compared to the previous day. In addition, they are no longer so difficult. Still, according to scientists, there would be a volcanic eruption if the earthquakes continued.
Volcanologist Thorvaldur Thordarson told RUV that the risk of an eruption had increased enormously. He reckons with hours or a few days - if the earth does not calm down after all. Apparently, magma at a depth of four to five kilometers has been accumulating in a kind of pantry for two weeks, Thordarson said. The earthquakes are a consequence of this, because the magma creates space for itself.
The exact timing of a volcanic eruption cannot be predicted, said expert Friis. The exact location can also only be estimated. The magma tunnel now runs under Grindavík. However, it is possible that the eruption will take place under the sea.
Earthquake swarm began two and a half weeks ago
The new earthquake swarm had begun almost two and a half weeks ago. Since then, there have been thousands of quakes. Volcanic eruptions had already occurred on the peninsula in 2021, 2022 and this summer. They had each announced themselves with longer series of earthquakes. There was no danger to populated areas in any of the three eruptions. This time, however, the Svartsengi geothermal power plant next to the Blue Lagoon was looked at with concern.
Next to the Blue Lagoon, steam rises from the Grindavik geothermal power plant. © Raul Moreno/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
President Jóhanesson called on the population to unite. "Iceland is a small country," he said. However, this can be quite useful. "We can turn our smallness into strength. Sometimes we're like a little family."
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Iceland is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It was only in July that a volcanic eruption occurred for the third year in a row with spectacular images. At that time, too, thousands of ejections had announced the eruption.
While Reykjavik is the main conurbation of the island with its almost 390,000 inhabitants, relatively few people live on the Reykjanes peninsula. Keflavik Airport was not affected by the recent volcanic eruptions. In the spring of 2010, things looked very different: the eruption of the volcanic glacier Eyjafjallajökull had plunged international air traffic into chaos for days. Dpa