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Giant Walls Built to Protect Power Plant From Iceland Volcano Eruption
Iceland Declares State of Emergency Over Volcanic Eruption Threat - 800 Earthquakes Rattle Nation in 14 Hours
Volcanic Eruption is Imminent in Iceland; Evacuations Underway, Eruption Could Begin in Hours -Blue Lagoon Closes Over Eruption Fears
BBC 11 NOV 2023
The increased activity is concentrated around the ***radalsfjall volcanic area in the southwest of the country
Thousands of minor earthquakes have raised fears in Iceland of an possible volcanic eruption.
Over 20,000 tremors have been detected by the Icelandic Met Office (IMO) since late October, with 1,400 in the 24 hours to midday on Thursday.
The heightened geological activity led to the famed Blue Lagoon being closed as a precaution.
It is concentrated in the southwestern Reykjanes Peninsula, which was dormant for 800 years before a 2021 eruption.
The IMO said that magma - molten rock - was accumulating at a depth of around 5km (3m) northwest of Thorbjorn mountain.
The Blue Lagoon is easily visible from the mountain. The owners of the famed turquoise hot springs said they would close the site until 16 November out of concern for employees' welfare.
The Met Office said an earthquake of 5.0 magnitude, the largest since the increased activity began, was detected shortly past midnight on Thursday in the ***radalsfjall volcanic area, around 30km from the capital Reykjavik.
Ingibjorg Lilja Omarsdottir of the Icelandic Civil Protection Agency has been posted to the nearby town of Grindavik to prepare for a potential evacuation of the town.
She said there was no imminent need for evacuation but that local authorities were prepared in the event of "magma appearing to rise to the surface".
Volcanic eruptions occur when magma, which is lighter than the solid rock around it, rises to the earth's surface from deep below it.
Met Office graphic showing the swarm of tremors felt in the past 48 hours on the Reykjanes peninsula
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