Icelandic towns are being evacuated as officials warn of an impending volcano eruption after thousands of earthquakes have affected the country, cracking open homes and roads. Officials warn of the impending eruption, which could come in a matter of days, of the Fagradalsfjall volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which could devastate the region. There were 800 earthquakes measured overnight Tuesday, reaching three to five kilometres beneath the earth’s surface. There have been consecutively high occurrences of earthquakes each night in Iceland, with 700 the night before and 900, 1,000, 800, and 1,400 the nights prior to that.One region alone has been hit by 1,100 quakes, as per The Daily Mail. “Most of them are in the middle of the magma dyke at Sundhnúk,” the Icelandic Meteorology Office wrote on its website. “Seismic activity has remained constant since 11th of November. The main monitoring focus on seismic activity remains in the area of the dyke and Grindavík.”"At this stage, it is not possible to determine exactly whether and where magma might reach the surface," the Meteorological Office said. On Saturday morning a national state of emergency was declared and about 4,000 residents were evacuated from Grindavik, which is just a few kilometres from the Fagradalsfjall volcano. The southwestern Reykjanes Peninsula has weathered thousands of earthquakes since a “seismic swarm” on October 25. Experts determined a growing magma intrusion, currently stretching about 14.5 km long, northwest of Grindavik. Magma is estimated to be 500 metres from the surface. Scientists have measured “continued deformation consistent with magma still flowing into the dyke.”“Part of the magma dyke seems to be solidifying, especially at the edges, but not at the magma inflow area, which is believed to be near Sundhnúk,” as per the website. Professionals are analyzing data collected in collaboration with Chalmers University in Sweden.“The likelihood of an eruption remains high. If an eruption occurs, the most likely location will be along the orientation of the magma intrusion, beginning as a fissure eruption.”The volcanic blast Icelanders are expecting “marks the start of centuries of eruptions,” with scientists warning this latest string of earthquakes is just the beginning of a “new eruptive phase." The first rumblings were detected in 2021, having been inactive for a stretch of 800 years, Cambridge volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer said, according to the Daily Mail. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Iceland's Nordic Volcanological Center Edward W. Marshall told Live Science the “time’s finally up.”“We can get ready for another few hundred years of eruptions on the Reykjanes.”
