Iceland Warns of ‘Significant’ Chance of Volcano Eruption
The 3,400 evacuated residents of a southwestern Icelandic fishing town were allowed to return to their homes briefly to gather their belongings on Sunday as authorities warned of a “significant likelihood of a volcanic eruption in the coming days.” The Icelandic Meteorological Office said Monday that roughly 900 earthquakes had rattled the region since midnight, many of them reported along a 9-mile magma tunnel running beneath the seaside town of Grindavik, according to national public service broadcaster RÚV. The tunnel, or dike, is estimated to be within 800 meters of the Earth’s surface, and it is believed that the magma could spill up and onto roadways in the near future. The evacuations took place on Saturday after Icelandic authorities declared a state of emergency, saying at the time that the likelihood of an eruption in the Reykjanes Peninsula was “deemed considerable.”
