Iceland is home to 33 active volcano systems.
Authorities in Iceland are concerned about severe weather conditions ahead of an “imminent” volcanic eruption. The eruption is expected to take place in Grindavik, a fishing port around 40 kilometres from capital Reykjavik. The 4,000 residents of the city were evacuated on November 11 after magma shifting under the Earth’s crust caused hundreds of earthquake. The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) has now said that volcanic eruption could take place “just 30 minutes’ notice” as magma is now sitting just below the earth’s surface, according to a report in Independent.
It quoted Kristin Jonsdottir, a senior IMO official, as saying that people will “just have to wait in suspense for the next few days to see how events play out”.
Ms Jonsdottir attributed the prediction to decreasing earthquake activity, which she said could also be a sign that magma has reached very close to the earth’s surface.
Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, meanwhile, has said that no other country than Iceland is better prepared for volcanos and other natural disasters.
“We have long experience in dealing with volcanic eruptions. We know that it’s not necessarily a sound decision to build for example defence mechanisms when you have such a great uncertainty where an eruption can come up,” she said at a press conference on Saturday.
The last volcanic eruption in the Reykjanes peninsula took place in 2021. It was the first one in eight centuries.
Iceland is home to 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe, and towns have been hit before.
The country has been on edge for the past week, waiting for a potential eruption near Grindavik.