Since 2021, there have been 11 eruptions south of Reykjavik, though none as serious as the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull volcano eruption, which disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for months.
Flights were not affected by this week’s eruption, which appeared to have subsided by 10.30pm local time, though the Icelandic Meteorological Office warned in a Facebook post: “Although no septic activity is seen, this event is far from over.”
It’s not the first time, nor will it be the last, that eruptions have threatened Grindavik.
It’s not the first time, nor will it be the last, that eruptions have threatened Grindavik.Credit: Icelandic Meteorological Office
Most houses in Grindavík have stood empty since 2023, when most of the village’s 4000 residents left in a mass evacuation due to the dangers of volcanic activity.
About 40 homes are still registered as occupied, and despite the residents’ initial resistance to leave, by noon on Tuesday – less than three hours after the eruption – officials had declared Grindavik empty of civilians.
It’s unlikely to be the last time residents will be asked to evacuate their homes, should they return after this latest incident.
Experts predict these fissure eruptions – in which lava flows out of long cracks in the earth’s crust instead of a single volcanic opening – could continue for decades, if not centuries.
Iceland, which nearly 400,000 people call home, sits astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This is where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart – a phenomenon visible on land at Thingvellir National Park, the former site of Iceland’s annual parliament.
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