Categories: World

Icelandic villagers cleared to return home following major volcanic eruption

close Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for December 22

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

  • Residents of Grindavik, Iceland, will be permitted to return home Saturday.
  • The small fishing village near Iceland’s main airport was evacuated after unusual seismic activity ruptured the ground between it and Sýlingarfell, a nearby mountain.
  • The village has been empty since Nov. 10.

Residents of the small Icelandic fishing village near where a volcano erupted were told Friday they could return home.

The regional police chief said residents, business owners and employees could enter Grindavik beginning Saturday and could stay overnight.

The town of 3,800 near Iceland’s main airport was evacuated Nov. 10 when a strong swarm of earthquakes led to cracks and openings in the earth between the town and Sýlingarfell, a small mountain to the north. The volcano finally erupted Monday, spewing semi-molten rock in a spectacular show that lit up the night sky.

ICELAND VOLCANO ERUPTS TURNING PART OF NATION INTO FIERY LANDSCAPE

Scientists said Thursday that the eruption had stopped, though pressure could start building far beneath it once again. They said the lava flow spread across an area of 1.4 square miles on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 31 miles southwest of the capital, Reykjavík.

“The stress that has built up over centuries now has been released by ripping the crust apart. That opens a pathway for the magma that’s coming from below to the surface,” Magnus Tumi Gudmunsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, said Thursday. “We had this event where magma reached the surface and we had this very quick and powerful eruption, short lived and the lava formed.”

An aerial photograph of a steaming fissure left behind by a volcanic eruption in Grindavik, Iceland, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Marco Di Marco)

The area known broadly as Svartsengi volcano had been dormant for around 780 years. The volcano is just a few kilometers west of Fagradalsfjall, which was dormant for 6,000 years before flaring to life in March 2021. The latest eruption was larger and more powerful than those in recent years.

When residents were allowed to return for several hours Thursday, Ingibergur Thor Olafarson, president of the local basketball team, took an Associated Press journalist to his home to show damage in his neighborhood.

A crack from the earthquake had left a large scar in his yard and he pointed to damage to a nearby home, where the wall outside was uneven.

Inside the home, artwork was on the floor from the swam of earthquakes.

“A lot of things dropped to the floor, pictures went off the wall, but still I think the house is leveled and not damaged,” Olafarson said as he held a level against a wall and found a spot slightly off.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“It’s nothing compared to other houses that are completely ruined or done,” he said. “The water is running and everything works, electricity, I can take a shower. I think my hot-tub in the backyard … I think it works! It should be hot.”

Share

Recent Posts

Experts warn AI stuffed animals could ‘fundamentally change’ human brain wiring in kids

Do AI chatbots packaged inside plush animals really help children, or do they threaten vital…

1 hour ago

Anonymous researcher exposes politicians’ hidden Spotify playlists, including Vance, Leavitt and Bondi

Vice President JD Vance is a big fan of the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That…

1 hour ago

Fox News AI Newsletter: Fighter pilots take directions from AI

IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER: - Fighter pilots take directions from AI in Pentagon's groundbreaking test- Google…

1 day ago

Scammers are using DocuSign emails to push Apple Pay fraud

Phishing scams are getting smarter, and one of the latest tricks involves fake DocuSign emails…

1 day ago

Farmers Insurance data breach exposes 1.1M Americans

Data breaches are no longer just a problem for the tech industry. They've become a…

1 day ago

Mary Kay’s iconic pink Cadillac shifts to fully electric

Nearly 60 years ago, Mary Kay Ash was turned away by a car salesman who…

2 days ago