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“We are tired of the uncertainty,” said ruefully Erla Ósk Pétursdóttir, 43, one of the residents of the town located just a few kilometers from the relatively new volcanic fissure.
A volcanic eruption on the outskirts of the port city of Grindavík woke Iceland on the Sunday morning before last. Just hours earlier, the city was hastily evacuated by authorities, and by midday, glowing orange lava reduced three houses to ash.
Icelandic meteorologists have since said volcanic activity has calmed down but “magma accumulation” continues in the area. Grindavík, where four thousand people lived, is therefore not safe and will not be for a few more years.
Photo: Marco Di Marco, ČTK/AP
Scientists at the University of Iceland acted out of fear and are taking measurements and collecting samples on the crest of the active part of the eruption fissure
Lava near Grindavík eats houses
“We don’t know how long (the volcanic activity) will last, but it could be years and it is possible that the lava will engulf the city,” said Icelandic geophysicist Magnús Tumi Gudmundsson, who answered questions at a meeting of about 500 residents from Grindavík answered this week in Reykjavík. Icelandic Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttirová also took part in the meeting.
He pays the mortgage and the rent
“We have to be prepared for it to take a long time,” said Pétursdóttir. According to her, most of the residents of her hometown have resigned themselves to the fact that she will leave Grindavík forever. Your priority, above all, is to live in safety and return to a stable financial situation.
Many families, surprised by the extent of the destruction, found themselves in financial difficulties because they have to continue paying the mortgage and at the same time, if they cannot find a place with relatives, also have to pay rent.
Photo: Marco Di Marco, ČTK/AP
A close-up of the southern active part of the original fissure of the active Grindavík volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula
But Páll Thorbjörnsson still hopes for his future in the city built on an 800-year-old lava bed, even though the highway leading to it is flooded and solidified by lava. “We have to give him time,” said the real estate agent. “There is nothing I can do, the government and Mother Nature will have the final say,” he added.
According to travelnoir.com, Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland’s civil protection and crisis management, stressed on Monday that observing the eruption was not a tourist attraction. Tourists should watch the eruption from a distance, he warned.
Iceland is the largest and most active volcanic region in Europe. It straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which forms the interface between lithospheric plates, and has 33 active volcanic systems.
How people left Grindavík
The first evacuation in the fishing village of Grindavík was ordered on November 11, 2023, after hundreds of aftershocks caused buildings and roads to collapse.
City residents were briefly allowed to return home after the initial outbreak on December 18th and on December 23rd. However, only a few dozen residents took advantage of this opportunity; others said the situation was too dangerous.
The last people had to be urgently evacuated by Icelandic authorities on the eve of last Sunday, January 14, when their worst fears came true and a volcano erupted near the city
Lava in the town of Grindavik. Drone footage shows destroyed houses
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