Due to a series of serious earthquakes in Iceland, authorities have declared a danger alert level north of Grindavik. It said that measures are being taken to ensure the safety of people. There have been warnings of even stronger earthquakes and imminent volcanic eruptions. According to Icelandic police, the tremors near Grindavik could become even more violent and eventually lead to an eruption. As a precaution, evacuation was ordered. It will continue to be investigated whether the magma is coming closer to the Earth’s surface or not.
According to the weather agency Vedurstofa, it is believed that the signals are comparable to the signals on the eve of the eruption at the Fagradalsfjall volcano in 2021 and are similar to the seismic activity a month before this eruption. The most likely scenario is that it would take days for the magma to reach the Earth’s surface, rather than hours.
The new round of earthquakes began about two and a half weeks ago on the Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest of Reykjavik. Thousands of earthquakes have occurred since then, but their intensity and frequency increased on Friday afternoon. According to weather agency data, several of them had a magnitude greater than 4.0, with one even measuring 5.2.
Volcanic eruptions have already occurred on the peninsula in 2021, 2022 and this summer. Each of them was announced by a long series of earthquakes. There was no threat to populated areas in all three explosions. However, this time, the Svartsengi geothermal power plant in the area was viewed with concern.
The nearby Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa, one of the country’s largest tourist attractions, was temporarily closed due to the series of earthquakes.
