[imagesource:Vegagerdin/Facebook]

Authorities have warned of a potential major volcanic eruption that has forced an entire town to evacuate.

Things are already looking pretty apocalyptic in the small town of Grindavik, which lies on Iceland’s southwest coast about 40 miles from the capital of Reykjavik.

Hundreds of earthquakes have already been detected in the area over the past few days, with a long tunnel of magma beneath Grindavik is believed to be moving toward the surface. Whether it will actually erupt from underground is not yet clear, according to authorities monitoring the situation.

The powerful earthquakes leading up to an eruption have cut the roads in #Grindavik in multiple places. Forces of nature tearing infrastructures apart. pic.twitter.com/OaXNtcJycm

— Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (@ORGrimsson) November 12, 2023

The ground beneath the locals’ feet has literally been cracking open. Shocking footage has been making its way around social media, showing steam rising from the large gashes in roads and sidewalks.

Large cracks are now seen emanating steam in the town of Grindavik as experts say the chance of a volcanic eruption is high.

📍If anyone was curious, the location of the video is 63.843321,-22.433439. pic.twitter.com/dHps5sZ2CQ

— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) November 13, 2023

The Messenger reported that the Icelandic Meteorology Office has confirmed that there is more than one metre of ground displacement in the western part of Grindavik, “caused by the propagation of the magma intrusion”.

Significant likelihood of a volcanic eruption in the coming days. Models show a 15-km long magma intrusion, located just northwest of Grindavík. A hazard area has been defined based on the location of the dike, as shown in the map. https://t.co/9vYBBjNcX9 pic.twitter.com/m6SyMVkmer

— Veðurstofa Íslands / Icelandic Met Office (@Vedurstofan) November 11, 2023

Residents were forced to quickly gather some of their possessions as the entire town of Grindavik had to be evacuated with roads leading in and out closed.

Sky News has a live update of the natural disaster as it unfolds, reporting that there has been no change in the situation in Grindavik overnight, per what police chief Ulfar Ludviksson told local media.

[source:themessenger]