Update (1916 EST): Employee evacuations of the Svartsengi Geothermal Power Plant have begun.
In the last hour, evacuation orders have been issued and a State of Emergency has been declared for the 3200 people that live in Grindavik, Iceland. Chief of Police, Víðir Reynisson, made this statement:
“The most recent data that the Norwegian Meteorological Agency gave us show a significant shift and a large magma tunnel that is forming and can open up and lie from the southwest to the northeast…It is clear that we are dealing with an event that Icelanders have not experienced since it erupted in Vestmannaeyjabær.”
According to Víðir Reynirsson of The Civil Defence (Almannavarnir Ríkislögreglustjóra) the city needs to be completely evacuated within the next 2-3 hours. #Iceland #reykjanes #grindavik
— Iceland Highlights (@IceHighlights) November 10, 2023
Over the past 24 hours, increased tectonic activity closed the Blue Lagoon, one of Iceland’s most popular tourist attractions. All citizens have been advised to give tourists and other citizens who do not have a car, a ride to relocation centers organized by the Red Cross.
