Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 01:02pm on 13 Nov 2023,Monday Weather & Environment
Iceland has declared an emergency after swarms of earthquakes, ordering the evacuation of the town of Grindavík as experts warn a volcanic eruption is increasingly likely. Thousands have fled the southwestern town as a precaution amid the rising threat. The Icelandic Meteorological Office says there is considerable risk of an imminent eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula. In a statement on Saturday, the agency said a tunnel of magma, or molten rock, that extends northeast across Grindavík and some 10km further inland, was estimated at a depth of less than 800mtrs, compared with 1,500mtrs earlier. A professor of volcanology said to the BBC, that a 15km river of magma is active underground, making an eruption in days highly probable. With over 20,000 tremors shaking southwest Iceland since late October and magma tunneling nearby, Iceland braces for a dangerous volcanic blast that has forced the evacuation of an entire town.
