Cracks, gaps, up to magma 800 meters: “Lava can flood Iceland”

“They say on TV that a volcanic eruption may occur in the coming days or weeks,” says our compatriot Artem, who lives near the Reykjanes Peninsula. “Now they are building anti-lava barriers from gravel and earth. They are quite impressive, about 8 meters in height. It is important to protect the geothermal power plant. If it is destroyed, the entire Reykjanes Peninsula, 30 thousand houses, will be left without electricity and water.

As Artem says, residents were evacuated from the fishing town of Grindavik. Large cracks appeared in several places in the city.

“For example, I saw such a failure in the gym. There the soil sank a good two meters. And such progress continues. It is now prohibited to travel there by private transport. Iceland’s prime minister and head of civil protection are trying to reassure the nation. Meanwhile, scientists do not hide the fact that the magma that seeps to the surface tears apart the outer rocks. This is where the entire southwest of Iceland is shaking. Over the past few days, hundreds of earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 4.8 have occurred here.

Authorities fear that Grindavik could be completely destroyed due to the elements. The lava could simply flood the city.

Another of our interlocutors, Anastasia, who lives in Iceland and works as a designer in an architectural company, says that there is no panic among the population, but everyone is vigilant and careful.

“Residents of Grindavik were allowed to return to their homes to pick up some things, medicines, documents, but they were ready to be evacuated if the volcano erupted,” says Anastasia. “Everyone has their finger on the pulse.” According to experts, the accumulation of magma was recorded at a depth of 800 meters under Grindavik. It is quite close. The most likely is an eruption from the main fissures that formed in the city. Lava flows can come out of them, which will cut off communications. They are now building a protective embankment there, which will be four kilometers long.

Anastasia, a resident of Grindavik, says that people solve accommodation issues differently. Some go to evacuation centers, others go to relatives.

— There are those who have found refuge with complete strangers via the Internet. Evacuation centers are located mainly in neighboring towns – in Cornum, Vallascola (at school), Selfoss, and in the sports center in Sunnubraut.

Our interlocutor shares that the tremors can be felt all the way to Reykjavik. The epicenter of an earthquake is always in the Grindavik area.

“It is still difficult to assess the scale of the destruction, but many houses, according to residents, cannot be restored. Some of our compatriots and people from the CIS are, of course, worried. They have never experienced an earthquake. I grew up in Kamchatka, where it constantly shakes, so I’m calm.

Ruslan, who lives in Reykjavik, says everything is calm in the capital.

“We live and work at the same rhythm,” shares Ruslan. — There are a large number of hotels in Iceland. Now is not the season, most of them are empty. Many of them housed Grindavik residents.

We managed to contact Irina, who works as a teacher in Iceland.

“What’s happening is a normal situation, Iceland is a volcanic island, there are hundreds of volcanoes, a quarter of which are active,” says Irina. — Fagradalsfjall will most likely erupt. A state of emergency was introduced only in Grindavik. The road leading into the city is closed due to subsidence. The Blue Lagoon (resort) was closed for safety reasons. Volunteers try to help those who were forced to leave the danger zone. Now volunteers, together with rescuers, are taking out the pets that still remain there from Grindavik.

As Irina says, for at least the last 50 years there has been no critical damage to the infrastructure or casualties in Iceland. And now everyone hopes for the best.

But, as we found out, there are many who just hope that the Fagradalsfjall volcano will erupt.

“I’m looking forward to this event so I can urgently fly to Iceland,” Mikhail from St. Petersburg shares with us. “In the summer, I was four days late when this volcano woke up. Eruptions also occur periodically there, but usually away from the city. This time, there is a chance that you won’t even have to go anywhere to see the lava fountains. This one is very spectacular.