Iceland has declared a state of emergency following a series of powerful earthquakes that rocked the country’s southwestern Reykjanes peninsula, signalling an increase in the chances of a volcanic eruption in the region, as reported by the news agency AFP.
The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management said,“The National Police Chief... declares a state of emergency for civil defence due to the intense earthquake (activity) at Sundhnjukagigar, north of Grindavik,” as quoted by AFP.
“Earthquakes can become larger than those that have occurred, and this series of events could lead to an eruption,” the administration warned. The Icelandic Met Office (IMO) stated that there is a possibility of an eruption “in several days”.
Around 4,000 people live in the village of Grindavik, which is located 1.86 miles (3km) south-west of the area where the earthquake swarm was registered on Friday. The region has evacuation plans in place in case of an eruption, as per AFP. Two strong earthquakes were felt as far as the capital, Reykjavik, 40km away, and along much of the country’s southern coast.
The biggest tremor, north of Grindavik, had a magnitude of 5.2, AFP reported, citing preliminary IMO figures. The road running north-south to Grindavik was closed by the police on Friday after it was damaged by the earthquakes. According to the Icelandic Met Office, 24,000 tremors have been registered on the peninsula since last October, AFP reported. “A dense swarm” of around 800 quakes has been registered between midnight and 2 p.m. GMT on Friday.
An accumulation of magma underground at a depth of about 3.1 miles (5km) was noted by the IMO. If it starts to move towards the surface, it could lead to a volcanic eruption. “The most likely scenario is that it will take several days rather than hours for magma to reach the surface,” it said, as quoted by AFP.
“If a fissure were to appear where the seismic activity is at its highest now, lava would flow to the south-east and to the west, but not towards Grindavik.”