Iceland is facing a 'new chapter' of seismic activity as lava threatens the city

Living in a country that straddles two tectonic plates and has approximately 130 volcanoes, Icelanders are no strangers to earthquakes and eruptions.

But a lava flow that flowed into the southwestern town of Grindavik on Sunday, setting three houses on fire – the first time a residential area had been hit in about 50 years – was further evidence that a threatening new phase of seismic activity had begun in the area. , said the Icelandic president.

“A terrifying period of unrest has begun on the Reykjanes Peninsula,” President Gudni Johannesson said in a televised address on Sunday evening, referring to the area that includes Grindavik. “What we all hoped wouldn't happen has come true.”

Since 2020, scientists have seen signs of increased volcanic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which had been dormant for 800 years, and have detected tens of thousands of earthquakes in recent months. In response to a possible eruption, Iceland has built defensive barriers around a geothermal power plant, which supplies warm water to the area, and around other potentially vulnerable sites nearby.

Grindavik, a fishing village of 3,600 inhabitants, was evacuated in November after strong seismic activity was detected on the peninsula, and then again in December, when a flow of lava erupted for several days in a remote valley north of Grindavík, without causing damage . Residents were advised not to return to their homes, and before Sunday's eruption, authorities ordered a complete evacuation of the 200 remaining people.

A volcanologist from the University of Iceland, Thorvaldur Thordarson, said on Monday that the threat to the peninsula, where about 31,000 residents live in several towns, will not end soon.

“This new chapter on the Reykjanes Peninsula will last a long time,” he said, adding: “A large, populated area is at stake.”

The scorching orange lava flow that poured out of a gorge and descended on Grindavik on Sunday has left a question mark over when residents there might return.

The earthquakes have also damaged dozens of buildings and roads in the city, and last week a construction worker fell through a crack and died.

Hordur Gudbrandsson, 63, leader of a local union, said business owners in Grindavik were planning to reopen before Sunday's lava flow.

“The outburst has changed the tone,” Mr Gudbrandsson said. “For how long, I don't know.”

Grindavik's population has grown dramatically in recent years thanks to an influx of people from the capital Reykjavik, which is just a 45-minute drive away. In addition to commuting work, residents could find work at the geothermal power plant, in the fishing industry or at the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa popular with tourists.

Mr Gudbrandsson said he was concerned about the town's future, but noted that for a community that traditionally made its living on fishing boats in the stormy North Atlantic, dealing with adversity was a common trait.

Bad news about sinking ships and drownings has always been a part of life, he said: “We know how to stand together.”

Vilhjalmur Arnason, a lawmaker and resident of Grindavik, said he was confident residents would return. He cited an eruption of the Eldfell volcano in 1973, which dumped ash and lava over much of Heimaey, in the Westman Islands of southern Iceland, and destroyed hundreds of homes. Many residents eventually returned to the island.

“If you live in Iceland,” Mr. Arnason said, “you have to manage to live with nature.”