Locals contemplate future as lava engulfs homes in small Icelandic fishing town

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (CN) — The threat wasn't new for Grindavik's residents: The small Icelandic fishing village has been on high alert since November, when the country registered numerous earthquakes and started evacuating people from the area because of possible volcanic activity.

But on Sunday, the latest eruption near the town buried houses under lava. Three houses burned to the ground. Residents had been safely relocated months ago, but they could still witness their homes being destroyed in minutes on live TV.

“Even though we live on a volcanic island, I never thought that this would happen in my or my children’s lifetime,”  Morten Szmiedowicz, whose house was engulfed in lava after a new crevasse opened outside his door, said in an interview with DR.

His family will probably not move back, because, as he said, “It will never be completely safe for the kids to go out and play. ... A lot of new holes and crevices.”

Since November, the initial 9-mile-long magma corridor has erupted several times, including on Dec. 18, sending lava fountains high into the air on the capital peninsula.

The spectacular scenery attracted so-called “volcano tourists” over Christmas and New Year's, who flocked to take pictures.

“It is a bit surreal to see your family home just disappear. It is unreal, and I am still realizing what is happening,” said homeowner Hrannar Jón Emilsson, who had been doing an extensive home renovation over the last two years.

He is one of the 4,000 people in Grindavík who were evacuated.

According to volcanologist Ármann Höskuldsson Rás, the risk is not over yet, as magma continues to flow underground and rise and fall in the area. The expert underlined that there could be new eruptions, speaking to Icelandic Morning Radio on Tuesday.

The land continues to move around Svartsengi, the nearby geothermal power plant, and authorities warn that fissures could open suddenly. The area saw around 200 smaller tremors from Sunday night to Tuesday, while thermal photos from a drone show that a crevasse south of Grindavík is expanding.

The small town suffered damage to its hot water distribution system. Power experts also foresee issues with electricity cables over the coming days. 

Iceland is situated on the mid-Atlantic ridge, where the North American and the Eurasian tectonic plates meet underwater. As they move 3-4 centimeters apart each year, factures and cracks are created in the earth’s crust, causing a risk that magma could rise to the surface.

Here, it can erupt as lava or ash, which happens every three to five years in Iceland, on varying scales.

In the wake of local damage, the Red Cross launched an emergency fundraising campaign to support citizens of Grindavík. Four million Icelandic króna (around $30,000) was collected after the recent eruption, and residents can apply for assistance at the local office.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said that the temporary relocation of Grindavík’s residents would continue, but emphasized the need to have honest discussions with the town council about the future. 

The government has also discussed financial measures such as rent-, income- and operational support for households and companies in the area. However, Minister of Finance Þórdís Kolbrún underlined that the measures were still under consideration.

“We know that people's expectations and ideas about their future in Grindavík are different. This is a major social project. This is also an economic project. Sometimes you have to weigh and evaluate,” she said.

For now, Iceland’s main media RÚV and their English radio channel provide constant updates on recent developments and the risk of more eruptions. And residents watch, and wait.

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