Southwest Iceland was shaken by thousands of tremors during the first week of November. The Icelandic Meteorological Office warned of the high probability of a volcanic eruption, and 4,000 residents of Grindavik were urgently evacuated due to the threat of molten rock rising to the surface.
An eruption could also affect a nearby geothermal power station.
New aerial footage has recently emerged on social media, showing a huge crack splitting Grindavik and steam emanating from it. The ground shook, roads cracked, and buildings suffered structural damage. At the same time, experts still cannot tell for sure what is going to happen.
Matthew James Roberts of the Icelandic Meteorological Office believes that this intrusion is literally hovering, sitting in equilibrium now just below the Earth’s surface. “We have this tremendous uncertainty now; will there be an eruption and if so, what sort of damage will occur?” he said.
The region is located between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, so Iceland is extremely seismically active. In 2010, an eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano caused serious air traffic issues resulting in the cancellation of thousands of flights.
Fortunately, at least the residents of Grindavik are safe.