Iceland has been warned that the eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano on the island’s south west Reykjanes Peninsula could happen ‘without notice’.
Dr Matthew Genge, a senior lecturer in Earth and planetary science at Imperial College London, told Metro.co.uk the situation in nearby Grindavik is ‘dangerous’.
Warning that the volcano bursting could send lava pouring and ‘fire fountains’, he said: ‘The eruption could occur with little notice.’
The Icelandic Met Office has recorded 600 earthquakes since midnight, stressing that the ‘probability of an eruption is still considered high’
Grindavik, home to 3,600 people, has sunk three feet into the ground and half the town has suffered a complete blackout.
One of Iceland’s biggest bulldozers has been wrangled to help build several kilometres-long walls around infrastructure to protect it from lava flow.
Scientists have been on edge since late October after seismographs first started rumbling, hinting that the eruption-prone Reykjanes volcanic system could burst at any moment.
Some 22 days since, the eruption – which will likely last for weeks or even months, experts told Metro.co.uk – has yet to happen.
