Iceland state of emergency as volcanic eruption ‘imminent’
Iceland has declared a state of emergency with an ‘imminent’ threat of a major volcanic eruption.
It ‘could obliterate the entire town of Grindavik’ authorities say.
Rumblings began three weeks ago with thousands of earthquakes recorded since.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office believes there is a ‘considerable risk of an eruption based on the speed of the underground magma buildup.
Grindavik was evacuated on Saturday.
It is located about 50 kilometres from capital Reykjavik.
Authorities also upped the alert level for aviation to orange level, although flights are still operating and the airport is still fully functioning.
A major eruption of the Eyjafjallajökullin volcano in 2010 caused havoc with air travel, grounding more than 100,000 transatlantic and European flights.
However, there is no evidence to suggest this will be at the same level, a Met Office spokesperson said.
Still, volcanic activity could last for weeks, they said.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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