Grindavik town sinking on magma bed - imminent eruption

[roguejuror]

Town of 3500 people in Iceland started sinking from volcanic activity 3 days ago, everybody had 3 hours to evacuate, declared forever inhabitable, possible eruption from under the town homes

Great video from an Icelandic geologist

https://www.youtube.com/@JustIcelandic

 

[CASPERWAIT$]

I wonder if the people that lived there knew this was a possibility

 

[roguejuror]

I wonder if the people that lived there knew this was a possibility

Since around 2020 it was "due" in geological terms, as in it "turned on" and became active, so yes they knew it was a possibility. The thing is it takes around 800 years in this region/age for a volcano to turn active, and when it does become active there's a period of around 300 years where the conditions could pressure enough for an eruption or it might never happen. So people kind of just go living their life without thinking about it.

 

[tullamore]

I wonder if any home insurance policy is exist.

 

[roguejuror]

It happened! Eruption! Fissure is 2 km away from Grindavik. In the next hours the lava is going to overflow to the city.

 

[roguejuror]

The fissure is 4 km long and it's gushing out 100 cubic meters per second of lava. Government has been making lava barriers to protect Grindavik; the fissure continues rupturing but on the north end. If the barriers divert the flow and the fissure doesn't extend on the south end there's a small chance it can be saved, or maybe this is the start of Ragnarök.