Iceland volcano: Eruption ‘imminent’ as 120 earthquakes strike – live

Until now, the focus of where any eruption could take place has been the dike in the area close to the evacuated town of Grindavik.

Iceland’s Met Office has now issued a detailed update after a series of earthquakes over the weekend and the start of this week that suggests it could be elsewhere.

It states that GPS data and satellite images show the “uplift” continues in the area of Svartseng, which is next to the Blue Lagoon attraction, around three miles north of Grindavik.

“In light of the available data and the newest analysis, an eruption along the dike is still considered likely as long as the magma inflow continues,” a spokesperson said.

“It is assessed that the area with the highest likelihood for an eruption is in the middle part of the dike between Hagafell and Sýlingarfell.”

Both Hagafell and Sýlingarfell are north of Grindavik, and are about four miles apart from each other.

Icelandic Met Office has said the “seismicity on the peninsula continues to decrease” but signs of magma movement and inflation persist.

“For the past few days, the automatic earthquake location system has been detecting relatively few earthquakes, mostly micro-earthquakes below magnitude one. The most recent seismicity is concentrated in the area between Sýlingarfell and Hagafell, where most likely the dike is fed by magma accumulating beneath Svartsengi,” it said in the latest update.

It added that although the seismic activity in the region around the dike is currently at a low level, the inflation process, likely associated with the movement of magma beneath the surface, continues steadily.

“Even though the activity along the dike and its vicinity is now occurring at very low intensity, the inflation which started in Svartsengi few days after the dike formed, continues at a fairly stable rate,” it said.

“Some cGPS stations around Svartsengi and Mt Þorbjörn show a slow declining trend, but other stations still show a constant trend suggesting that the inflow rate of magma at depth has not reduced significantly.”

But the volunteer rescue forces posted on guard duty in battering 32mph winds have to follow the strict instructions of Iceland’s tourist minister. There is a lot of high-speed arguing in Icelandic, and eventually we pass through.

The coach is carrying the world’s media for the first time since the initial 5.2-magnitude earthquake gripped the globe’s attention. But after days of stalemate, fears of Iceland’s economy tanking, and rumours spreading of the entire country disappearing beneath the Atlantic, the government has reluctantly allowed the press to visit the site.

The land is still unstable around Grindavik with a 25m deep hole opening up at Hópbraut yesterday. Scientists were studying the hole and measuring it when photographers arrived.

“The hole you have here is naturally representative of the cracks that have formed here, because everything is falling apart.

“The soil does not go with the solid rock when it breaks and then it is crushed into the crack. This crack we have here is about 25.7 meters down to the water table.

“Which means that it is naturally deeper if you go into the lake itself,” Ármann Höskuldsson, research professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland told RUV.

A new hole opened up underneath an excavator working around the great chasm that appeared in Grindavík.

“I’m working on a crawler around the big crack and fixing pipes. I was going over it and then it sank under me,” Henry Ásgeirsson, a digger for Jóni and Margeiri told MBL.

He says the area is all cracked and really dangerous.

A colleague Jón Berg Reynisson, took photographs of the opening.

“We never know what lies ahead of us in these jobs, but there the hole was not bigger. The earth can sink down and we don’t know how deep and wide it is,” he says.

“We try to be careful, but anything can happen in this area.”

“We’re seeing a variety of businesses expressing interest in reopening. With available housing and machinery for production and services, people are returning and taking advantage of these opportunities to keep their businesses afloat,” he stated.

Fannar emphasised the growing sense of community and mutual support in Grindavík.

“It’s great to see how supportive everyone is. Those working need access to food and services. There are also machine shops and wood workshops , among other businesses, which are reopening. So it is all interconnected, and life here is in its infancy, once again, ushering in what we hope marks the start of a positive era.”

Hundreds of pets have been rescued from Iceland’s town of Grindavik, after they were separated from their owners over threats of an imminent volcanic eruption.

Charities have taken part in a number of rescue efforts in a bid to save animals in the town with rescuers returning to look for animals.

Cats, dogs, hamsters and even hens were at the centre of rescue efforts after many were left behind following evacuation orders which gave residents minutes to leave. Over 4,000 people were evacuated.

Read the full article from Barney Davis

From the spectacular Northern Lights to the stunning waters of Blue Lagoon, Iceland is certainly not short of tourist attractions.

But the country may have found another spot for tourists to take selfies in front of, after the small harbour town of Grindavík was hit by thousands of earthquakes.

As fears of an imminent volcanic eruption subside, the town is looking at how best to recover after streets were torn up and residents fled for safety.

Read the full story from our reporter Barney Davis here

Moving a bit further south from Iceland stunning footage of Italy’s Mount Etna spitting lava and billowing smoke into the night sky has emerged on the morning of 1 December.

Whilst it’s a relatively timid explosion, Mount Etna erupts frequently and creates plumes of ashes that threaten to disrupt Catania’s nearby airport.

The Sicilian volcano is currently in a period of blast activity that began in the middle of November 2023.

Mount Etna is believed to have the longest documented history of eruptions among all volcanoes, with records dating back to as early as 425 B.C.