Iceland on High Alert: Volcanic Eruption Imminent as Earthquakes Rock Reykjanes Peninsula
A state of emergency has been stated in Iceland after thousands of tremblings raised worries of a volcanic eruption.
A series of powerful earthquakes rocked the nation’s southwestern Reykjanes peninsula, signalling that there was an increased possibility of a volcanic eruption in the area.
The Icelandic Met Workplace (IMO) alerted that an eruption could happen “in a number of days”.
According to the IMO, Given that late October, 24,000 tremblings have been registered on the peninsula, and “a thick swarm” of nearly 800 quakes registered between midnight and 2 pm GMT on Friday.
Authorities have actually bought thousands living in the southwestern town of Grindavik to leave as a preventative measure and have closed the nearby Blue Lagoon tourist attraction.
The area around Mount Thorbjorn on the Reykjanes Peninsula has actually been shaken by hundreds of small earthquakes every day for more than two weeks due to an accumulation of volcanic magma– molten rock– around 3 miles (5km) underground.
Land in the area has risen by 9cm (3.5 in) since the end of October, according to the Icelandic Met Workplace (IMO).
Scientists are carefully monitoring the scenario for any indicator the seismic activity is getting closer to the surface area.
Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic, averages an eruption every four to 5 years.
The most disruptive in current times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed substantial clouds of ash into the environment and caused extensive airspace closures over Europe.
The Reykjanes Peninsula on Iceland’s southwestern coast includes a volcanic system that has actually appeared 3 times given that 2021, after being dormant for 800 years.
The evacuation of Grindavik followed the IMO alerted that “considerable modifications have actually taken place in the seismic activity” which magma could have extended under the town, which lies about 33 miles (53km) from the capital Reykjavik.
The IMO said: “At this stage, it is not possible to figure out precisely whether and where lava might reach the surface.”
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