Iceland’s sinking city: Subsidence that has split buildings in half and collapsed roads will worsen and lava could flow from cracks for weeks, local experts warn

An Icelandic city continues to sink, gaping cracks tearing apart buildings and streets as magma accumulates just a few hundred meters below the surface in anticipation of a volcanic eruption.

Magma was rapidly making its way beneath Grindavik like an “underground freight train,” said Matthew James Roberts, director of the Icelandic Met Office, who warned that “nature always wins if the eruption lasts long enough.”

Although there was no explosive blast at the nearby Fagradalsfjall volcano, he told the BBC that a low-intensity eruption could send lava flowing from a series of fissures for “weeks” and potentially hit Grindavik.

Scientists said that depending on where an eruption occurs, it could “definitely” flow into the fishing community, which was turned into a “ghost town” after it was evacuated of its 4,000 residents on Saturday.

As the area prepares for a possible eruption, urgent work is underway to build a massive wall that will hopefully prevent lava flows from reaching the city or a nearby geothermal power plant.

The constant movement of the earth caused hot water to leak from underground pipes

An aerial photo shows how a huge rift valley tore the city of Grindavik apart

Gaping ravines divided the open streets in the city empty of residents

Experts have warned that land subsidence will worsen in Grindavik, where large sinkholes have formed

If the worst happens, a huge defensive wall, believed to be the largest in Iceland, will be built to protect the Svartsengi geothermal power plant from lava flows.

The Reykjanes Peninsula, southwest of Reykjavik, continues to be rocked by tremors. Since midnight, 400 tremors have been recorded and a 2,000-year-old rift in the earth continues to widen.

According to reports, the entire eastern part of Grindavik was without power this morning as subsidence could cause power lines to break overnight.

The earth’s constant movement also caused hot water to leak from underground pipes and steam to escape from gaping cracks in streets and under houses.

Magma is believed to exist as deep as 500 meters below the surface, although some have expressed hope that it may cool and solidify rather than erupt.

The activity suggests that “something is still going on” in the magma corridor, experts say.

“It’s very similar to the past few days,” Sigridur Kristjansdottir of the Norwegian Meteorological Agency said this morning.

“About eighty to a hundred earthquakes per hour, most below magnitude two, but a few above magnitude two.”

“We’re also seeing an extension in our GPS measurements, so there’s still something going on.”

Large cracks appeared on the main street in Grindavik, south-west Iceland

Steam rises from a crack in a street near the Icelandic town of Grindavik

Two police officers look at a structure that appeared in the middle of the street in the fishing village of Grindavik

Thousands of earthquakes have destroyed homes and businesses in recent days, leaving many residents of Grindavik homeless or in limbo.

Resident Katrín Sigurdardóttir told local media that the uncertainty is the worst for her and her neighbors.

“Waiting is the worst, because we don’t know anything.” “It would be better if we knew the house was covered in lava, because then we could start over,” she said. “This uncertainty is so terribly difficult.”

A “seismic swarm” hit Iceland on October 25, causing a large increase in the number of recorded earthquakes

Those allowed to return to their properties with emergency services to retrieve their belongings were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday after the Icelandic Meteorological Office said its meters detected elevated sulfur dioxide levels – a possible indication of an eruption.

Videos show apocalyptic scenes in the deserted city, with houses torn apart and cracks gaping in the streets.

Mother-of-four Magga Huld AfaÖmmudóttir, who had just seven minutes to collect items from her home on Monday, said her family was left homeless after terrible earthquakes completely destroyed their property.

“Friday was terrible, the earthquakes didn’t stop for hours, but we left our house at 21:00 on Friday night with two days’ worth of clothes and two boxes of photo albums and planned to pick up more the next day.” Magga told MailOnline.

Mother-of-four Magga Huld AfaÖmmudóttir said her family was left homeless after terrible earthquakes completely destroyed their home

Mother-of-four Magga Huld AfaÖmmudóttir said her family was left homeless after terrible earthquakes completely destroyed their property

“I’m fine, but at the slightest noise I get scared and jump, and then in a minute we’re homeless. “I have all kinds of emotions,” the 50-year-old said.

“We were admitted on Monday.” “We had seven minutes to collect what we wanted to save, but the focus was on personal belongings of my family – my mother, grandmother and grandfather – and clothes.”

Magga shared the video of her home and described her despair at losing the home she and her husband had worked for years to buy.

Footage shows their home ripped from its foundations by the force of a powerful earthquake, forcing the family to flee with few belongings on Friday.

The southwestern Reykjanes peninsula has been rocked by thousands of earthquakes since a seismic swarm on October 25.

Lava flows on the active volcano Mount Fagradalsfjall, Iceland (file image 2021)

Iceland lies between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, one of the largest in the world, and is a seismic and volcanic hotspot as the two plates move in opposite directions.

In March 2021, spectacular lava fountains erupted from a 500- to 750-meter-long fissure in the region’s Fagradalsfjall volcanic system.

Volcanic activity in the area lasted for six months this year, prompting thousands of Icelanders and tourists to visit the site.

A three-week eruption occurred in the same area in August 2022, followed by another in July this year.