Thousands evacuate Iceland's Grindavik amid risk of volcano eruption
![]() 2538 Saturday, 11 November, 2023, 22:30 Thousands of people have been evacuated from Iceland's coastal town of Grindavik after a series of strong earthquakes in the southwest of the country risked a volcanic eruption. "The evacuation of Grindavik ended around one o'clock in the morning without any problems," Iceland's Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management said on Saturday. The evacuation decision was taken on late Friday after the country declared an emergency phase, citing a “magma tunnel that is forming could reach Grindavík.” "The latest data from the Met Office show considerable displacement and a large magma tunnel that is forming and may open, which would then run from south-west to north-east," the department said in a statement on Friday. "We want to reiterate that residents MUST evacuate their homes and leave the town," it said. "But we also want to reiterate that this is not an emergency evacuation, there is plenty of time to prepare, secure things and drive out of town calmly." The department stressed that the country is "dealing with events that we Icelanders have not experienced before, at least not since the eruption in Vestmannaeyjar." Nearly 800 quakes were recorded between midnight and 2:00 p.m. on Friday, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office. Iceland is home to a total of 32 active volcanos. |
Heist of the century: The dramatic louvre jewellery robbery (video)
28915:05Shrapnel hits California patrol car escorting Vance at military event
24411:05This Tiny Picasso Painting Went Missing While Traveling to an Exhibition in Spain (photo)
452Yesterday, 21:49Joe Biden seen publicly for first time since beginning radiation therapy for prostate cancer (photo)
343Yesterday, 15:17Armenia: ICJ condemns detention of defence lawyer Alexander Kochubaev and calls for his immediate release
394Yesterday, 00:27Japan ex-PM Murayama, famous for WW2 apology, dies aged 101
40117.10.2025, 12:12EU to be ‘ready’ for war with Russia by 2030
37717.10.2025, 00:46Chief of staff of Yemen Houthi rebel’s military dies from wounds suffered in Israeli airstrike
42516.10.2025, 19:48