Volcano eruption soon? Iceland rattled by tens of thousands of tremors in a week

Some 900 earthquakes hit southern Iceland adding to tens of thousands of tremors that rattled the region in recent weeks while the country braces for a significant volcanic eruption. Almost 4,000 people were evacuated over the weekend as authorities feared that molten rock would rise to the surface of the earth and potentially hit a coastal town and a power station, news agency Reuters reported.

What Icelandic Meteorological Office said?

"We have this tremendous uncertainty now; will there be an eruption and if so, what sort of damage will occur," Matthew James Roberts, director of the service and research division at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said as inhabitants of the town of Grindavik were evacuated from their homes in the early hours of Saturday as the earthquakes struck.

Hans Vera, a resident, said that there had been a constant shaking of his family's house. "You would never be steady, it was always shaking, so there was no way to get sleep," he said, adding, “It's not only the people in Grindavik who are shocked about this situation it's the whole of Iceland.”

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"You have to park your car five kilometres from town and there's 20 cars, huge cars from the rescue team, 20 policemen, all blinking lights, it's just unreal, it's like a war zone or something, it's really strange," he continued.

What are the residents doing ahead of possible volcano eruption?

A rescue official told Reuters that almost all of the town's 3,800 inhabitants had been able to find accommodation with family members or friends while 50 to 70 people were staying at evacuation centres. Some evacuees were briefly allowed back into the town to collect belongings.

How recurrent are earthquakes in the region?

The Reykjanes peninsula is a volcanic and seismic hot spot. It is located southwest of the capital. In March 2021, lava fountains erupted spectacularly from a fissure in the ground measuring between 500 750 metres long in the region's Fagradalsfjall volcanic system. Volcanic activity in the area continued for six months in 2021. In August 2022, a three-week eruption happened in the same area, followed by another in July this year.

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