About 900 tremors shook southern Iceland on Monday, according to authorities, adding to the tens of thousands of tremors that have shaken the region in recent weeks, as the country prepares for what could become a major volcanic eruption.
Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated over the weekend as authorities feared molten rock would rise to the earth's surface and could hit a coastal town and a geothermal power plant.
"Now we have this tremendous uncertainty: Will there be an eruption and, if so, what kind of damage will occur?" said Matthew James Roberts, director of the services and research division at the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
Residents of the town of Grindavik described being evacuated from their homes in the early hours of Saturday as the ground shook, roads cracked and buildings suffered structural damage.
Hans Vera, a 56-year-old Belgian who has lived in Iceland since 1999, said his family home had been shaking constantly.
"You could never be calm, I was always shaking, so there was no way to sleep," said Vera, who is now staying at her sister-in-law's house in a Reykjavík suburb.
"It's not just the people of Grindavik who are shocked by this situation, it's all of Iceland," he said.
Almost all of the city's 3,800 residents had been able to find accommodation with relatives or friends and only between 50 and 70 people remained in evacuation centers, a rescue official said.
Some evacuees were allowed to briefly return to the city on Sunday to pick up belongings such as documents, medicine or pets, but they were not allowed to drive.
"You have to park your car five kilometers outside the city and there are 20 cars, huge rescue team cars, 20 police officers, all with flashing lights, it's just unreal, it's like a war zone or something, it's really strange" Vera said.
The Reykjanes Peninsula is a volcanic and seismic hotspot southwest of the capital. In March 2021, lava fountains spectacularly erupted from a fissure in the ground between 500 and 750 meters long in the region's Fagradalsfjall volcanic system.
Volcanic activity in the area continued for six months that year, prompting thousands of Icelanders and tourists to visit. A three-week eruption occurred in the same area in August 2022, followed by another in July of this year.
