Magma pushes upwards

Iceland: Earthquakes have destroyed dozens of buildings

In Iceland, dozens of buildings have been destroyed in the coastal town of Grindavík (pictured) due to numerous earthquakes in the past week.(Bild: kameraOne)

In Iceland, dozens of buildings have been destroyed by numerous earthquakes in the coastal town of Grindavík over the past week. The insurance company responsible has received more than 400 damage reports so far, said company director Hulda Ragnheidur Árnadóttir on Sunday.

So far, 53 buildings, including 30 residential properties, have been declared a total loss. However, more than 260 reports still need to be investigated, Árnadóttir said. There have been around 100 minor quakes in Iceland in the past 24 hours alone.

Village evacuated due to earthquake
The village with around 3700 inhabitants had been evacuated some time ago due to the earthquakes and the threat of a new lava eruption. On Sunday, a few hundred residents were allowed to return for a few hours to retrieve personal belongings from their homes. A similar operation is planned for Monday for people from other parts of Grindavík.

In mid-January, there was a violent volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula southwest of the capital Reykjavik, during which glowing red lava flowed out of elongated cracks in the earth. For the first time in almost half a century, houses in Iceland were destroyed by masses of lava.

New volcanic eruption feared
Experts fear a new eruption on the island in the North Atlantic. An estimated 6.5 million cubic meters of magma have now accumulated below the region around the fishing village of Grindavík and are pushing towards the earth's surface.