Iceland is in a bit of trouble. There have been a lot of earthquakes, and people are worried a volcano might erupt. So, the government has told folks in a town called Grindavík to leave their homes just in case. The experts think there’s a good chance the volcano might blow up soon.
The ground has been shaking a lot near the Fagradalsfjall volcano, and this area hadn’t seen any volcanic action for 800 years until 2021. The experts say there’s this tunnel of hot, melted rock moving underground, and it’s getting closer to Grindavík.
They closed a famous place called the Blue Lagoon because of all the shaking. Since October, there have been more than 20,000 little earthquakes in southwest Iceland. The government is playing it safe and asking people to get out of the way, just in case the volcano decides to erupt.
On Friday, the experts said everyone in the town needs to leave, but they want to make it clear it’s not a super urgent emergency. They just want to be safe and have time to get everyone out. The main goal is to keep the people in Grindavík safe. They closed all the roads into the town except for emergencies, so it’s kind of like a one-way street for now.
Iceland is a place with a lot of moving ground, and there are about 30 places where volcanoes can erupt. Volcanoes happen when hot, liquid rock comes up from deep inside the Earth and reaches the surface. Back in July, there was a little volcano called Litli-Hrutur, and it was a big deal because it hadn’t erupted in 800 years. Tourists even went to see it. Now, the experts are being cautious, making sure everyone is out of the way, just in case the bigger volcano in the area decides to erupt. They’ve had eruptions in 2021, 2022, and now they’re being careful in 2023.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67387827