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Iceland: volcanic eruption threatens city with destruction
Iceland: a volcanic eruption threatens a city with destruction – (franceinfo)
In Grindavik, Iceland, the 4,000 residents had to be evacuated during the weekend of Saturday, November 11, as a volcanic eruption threatened to destroy the town. Disaster could strike at any moment.
In Iceland, where road traffic was still passing three days earlier, a gaping crack is visible on Monday, November 13. It grew almost visibly. Smoke comes out of the asphalt and escapes from between the paving stones in a village cut in two. “We can see the fault opening. These holes are growing horizontally and vertically,” explains Gregory Paul de Pascale, professor of geology at the University of Iceland.
A 15 km fault
While Grindavik (Iceland) is deforming under the pressure of the magma, the authorities are allowing the 4,000 residents, hastily evacuated over the weekend, to return to pick up belongings on Monday. “I didn’t believe it when I left. I just took a small bag, but it was much more serious than I thought,” assures a resident. The likelihood of a blowout is strong, but it is impossible to predict when it might occur along this 15 km fault in southwest Iceland.