HUSAVIK, Iceland (AP) — The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa — one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions — closed temporarily as a swarm of earthquakes put the island nation’s most populated region on alert for a possible volcanic eruption.
“People thought a volcanic eruption was about to happen.”The area around Mount Thorbjorn on the Reykjanes Peninsula has been shaken by hundreds of small earthquakes every day for more than two weeks due to a buildup of volcanic magma some 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) underground.
The Reykjanes Peninsula on Iceland’s southwestern coast is includes a volcanic system that has erupted three times since 2021, after being dormant for 800 years.
At Grindavík, a fishing town of 3,400 people, residents have experienced a series of seismic episodes since the Reykjanes Peninsula began to rumble three years ago.
Retired beautician Hildur Gunnarsdóttir, 68, said she spent the night cruising around in her Volkswagen Passat to “get a break from feeling the earthquakes.”Gunnarsdottir tracks seismic activity on a phone app called My Earthquake Alerts.
Persons:
Bjarni Stefansson, ” Stefansson, “, Thorvaldur Thordarson, Helga Arnadottir, Hildur, ”
Organizations:
—, Associated Press, “, Icelandic Met, Met Office, AP, Volkswagen Passat
Locations:
HUSAVIK, Iceland, Mount Thorbjorn, Thorbjorn, ” Iceland, Europe, Grindavík