By Michelle Rimmer and Tom Joyner
A member of the emergency services walks near a crack cutting across the main road in Grindavik, southwestern Iceland following earthquakes. Photo: Kjartan Torbjoernsson / AFP
When Australian teacher Stephanie Langridge moved to Iceland from Sydney seven years ago, she never imagined she would one day drive willingly into an active volcano "red zone".
More than 1000 earthquakes a day are rumbling the fishing village of Grindavik, where a 15-kilometre fracture has opened in the ground.
They're considered the precursor to an eruption and scientists predict lava could begin spurting out fissure at any moment.
Langridge and her Icelandic husband are members of a search and rescue team that escorts evacuated residents back into the town's most dangerous areas to retrieve items they left behind.
"At the moment it is still safe for us to go in," Langridge said.
"We're updated hourly, even sometimes minute-to-minute, on what the conditions are. If and when it does erupt, then we will be ready as we're needed."
Australians are no strangers to natural disasters, with emergency services battling fires and floods on a routine basis.
Vehicles are seen leaving the town of Grindavik, southwestern Iceland, during an evacuation following earthquakes that experts warned could be a precursor to a volcanic eruption. Photo: KJARTAN TORBJOERNSSON / AFP
In Iceland, volcanic activity is their bread and butter.
An April 2010 eruption sparked an ash cloud that closed European air space for six days and forced the cancellation of more than 100,000 flights.
People may picture a large mountain spurting smoke and lava, however, in this part of the country, the activity happens below the ground.
"If you look at the charts, there's something happening almost every year or every few years here, so the concept that something might be erupting soon isn't at all strange to us," Langridge said.
If and when an eruption happens, it will mean lava coming through the 15km fracture.
What is unique about this predicted event, is it's the first time in 50 years that an Icelandic town might be buried under the flow.
The island nation has dozens of active volcanoes, but populated areas are rarely impacted by the seismic activity.
In 2022, a new volcano near Mount Fagradalsfjall in southwestern Iceland attracted many tourists. Photo: Hans Lucas / AFP
"This is people's lives and their homes, and this has the potential to really affect people for the next generations as well. So everyone's taking this very, very seriously and encouraging others to do the same," Langridge said.
Grindavik is on the south coast of Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula which is where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates meet.
It's about 50km from the capital, Reykjavik.
While the area has a history of volcanic activity, there hadn't been any eruptions for about 800 years until a minor event in 2019.
But the current situation represents a significant escalation.
According to geophysicist Páll Einarsson, the region has "come to life".
"We have not had an eruption in this part of the country since 1240 in the Middle Ages, and so the modern society that we have here now was built up during a very quiet period," Professor Einarsson said.
"We don't really know what's ahead, but we have to expect that we are beginning an active period in this part of the country.
"What is happening today and maybe the next two weeks is only one chapter in this story and we really expect there to be more."
Residents carry belongings from their homes in Grindavik, southwestern Iceland, following earthquakes. Photo: Kjartan Torbjoernsson / AFP
The Icelandic Meteorological Office first registered signs of renewed seismic activity in the area late last month.
Several earthquakes struck the town in the weeks that followed, including a magnitude-4.8 earthquake on November 9.
The next day, Grindavik was evacuated and The Blue Lagoon - one of the country's most famous tourist attractions - was closed.
Icelandic authorities are working on a plan to protect the town from potential lava flows and have been constructing an asphalt wall to direct molten rock away from critical infrastructure.
A major focus has been on building defences around the Svartsengi geothermal power plant, which provides electricity to everywhere except the capital.
- ABC
