Important Takeaways:

• Volcanic eruption in Iceland could last ‘for weeks’, expert warns as 2,800 earthquake tremors are detected in 24 hours amid fears ‘imminent’ explosion could ‘obliterate’ town
• A volcano in Iceland could spew lava ‘for weeks’ an expert has warned, as fears are mounting that an eruption could be ‘imminent’ with at least 2,800 tremors recorded in the last day.
• The Fagradalsfjall volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula, the youngest part of Iceland, threatens to ‘obliterate’ the town of Grindavik, with 4,000 residents evacuated after a state of emergency was declared on Friday.
• ‘We are really concerned about all the houses and the infrastructure in the area,’ Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland’s Civil Protection and Emergency Management said.
• ‘The magma is now at a very shallow depth, so we’re expecting an eruption within a couple of hours at the shortest, but at least within a couple of days.’
• Molten magma has been accumulating three miles under Grindavik, and now experts have said that a ‘corridor’, around nine miles long (15km), has developed beneath the town – with a volcanic eruption possible anywhere along the intrusion.
• ‘We have a fissure that’s about 15 kilometers long, and anywhere on that fissure we can see that an eruption could happen,’ he said.
• Pictures have shown gaping chasms opening up around the town, with roads wrecked, pavements ripped apart, and land slipping at a golf course.
• All roads leading to the town are reportedly closed, while the roads to Iceland’s international airports in the north of the peninsula remain open.
• Thorvaldur Thordarson, professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland, told state broadcaster RUV at the weekend: ‘I don’t think it’s long before an eruption, hours or a few days. The chance of an eruption has increased significantly,’
• Locals in the area were given just 15 minutes to return and gather their pets and essentials after they evacuated their homes.

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