More than 4,000 people have already been evacuated from the southern Icelandic town of Grindavik after the country declared a state of emergency as fears grow of a volcanic eruption in the region.
According to local authorities, at least 900 earthquakes struck the surroundings of Grindavik this Monday (13), joining the tens of thousands of other earthquakes that have affected the region in recent weeks.
According to information from the Reuters agency, of the 4,000 people evicted, at least 3,800 people managed to take shelter with relatives and friends in other cities, while around 70 people went to evacuation centers.
In an interview with CNN International, Scientists from the Icelandic Meteorological Office said they are monitoring the situation and observed changes last Sunday (12) that indicate that the magma is moving closer to the surface, and that it is less than 4 kilometers from the city of Grindavik.
The country’s Civil Protection Agency said on Friday (10) that Iceland is facing events that its 360,000 residents “have not experienced before, at least not since the eruption in Vestmannaeyjar”, referring to an eruption of 1973 that began without warning and destroyed 400 homes.
Why is the region dangerous?
Iceland sits on a tectonic plate boundary that splits, pushing North America and Eurasia apart along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge line. Below it, there is an area that is hotter than the surrounding magma, melting and thinning the Earth’s crust – making Iceland home to 32 active volcanoes.
The Reykjanes peninsula, near the capital Reykjavik, is a volcanic and seismic hotspot. In March 2021, lava fountains erupted from a ground fissure measuring between 500 and 750 meters long in the region’s Fagradalsfjall volcanic system.
* With information from Reuters and CNN Internacional
Source: CNN Brasil
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