Since early 2020, the inhabitants of the small town of Grindavík have lived with tens of thousands of earthquakes. It began with the rising of the mountain Þorbjörn just north of town, leading to fears of possible eruptions. The situation then got better and the quakes got fewer. A year later, the pace, magnitude and closeness of earthquakes shook the town into a state of worry and sleeplessness, along with fears of a nearby eruption. But faced with two bad options, an volcanic eruption began to sound pretty good for some.

Stories from the Natlantic

Svavar Jonatansson

Small town dreams of a volcanic eruption

MAR 15, 202132 MIN
Stories from the Natlantic

Small town dreams of a volcanic eruption

MAR 15, 202132 MIN

Description

Since early 2020, the inhabitants of the small town of Grindavík have lived with tens of thousands of earthquakes. It began with the rising of the mountain Þorbjörn just north of town, leading to fears of possible eruptions. The situation then got better and the quakes got fewer. A year later, the pace, magnitude and closeness of earthquakes shook the town into a state of worry and sleeplessness, along with fears of a nearby eruption. But faced with two bad options, an volcanic eruption began to sound pretty good for some.