About

Over the last week and a half, the south of Iceland has experienced tens of thousands of earthquakes and experts told us to brace for a possible volcanic eruption. All eyes are still on Reykjanes Peninsula, the place where all the action might go down. Mainstream media in other countries have picked up the story, which has resulted in people reaching out to me to know if I am safe and to hear what life is like in Iceland as we wait to see if a volcano will go off. During this episode, I’m sharing how I feel about the situation, if we are in any danger in Iceland, what experts are saying and more. I am not an expert in Geology or Volcanology, but I hope to have one of them on soon to talk about the situation, especially if the threat of a volcano erupting continues. In a previous episode, I interviewed Helga Kristín, a geologist and volcano expert. She shared why Iceland is so unique from a geological standpoint. If you haven’t heard that interview, I recommend checking it out. When Did the Earthquakes in Iceland Begin? On Wednesday, February 24th is when we started to feel earthquakes in the south. That day we experienced an earthquake that was the magnitude of 5.7. I remember this clearly because I took a short video of it and posted it in my Instagram stories. From that day on, we started to feel earthquakes consistently but not very many of them at once. Because I live in Mosfellsbær, which is about a 15 minute drive from downtown Reykjavík, I don’t feel the earthquakes as strongly as those in the city and definitely not as strongly as people living on the Reykjanes Peninsula. It was only early this week that the frequency of earthquakes increased.  When many thousands of them started happening in a very short period of time and there was magma build up, experts started to predict that we could have a volcanic eruption. One prediction was that it could happen within a few hours. However, that didn’t happen. The seismic activity has died down but that doesn’t mean this over. Right now we are just waiting to see what else the earth communicates to us. About the Reykjanes Peninsula  For most people, their best reference regarding the Reykjanes Peninsula is that the iconic Blue Lagoon spa is located there. Keflavík International airport is also located on this peninsula. It’s about a 40 to 50 minute drive from the airport to Reykavík. The fascinating thing to me is that this peninsula is so underrated. The diverse landscape and nature is insanely beautiful there. You can find black sand beaches, an area that looks like the highlands, geothermal hot springs and so much more. I feel like it is almost hidden in plain sight because hundreds of thousands of visitors to Iceland arrive at the airport and/or visit the Blue Lagoon and then skip the rest of the peninsula. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7pKW629KRw How are people feeling? Are people living in Iceland safe? The feelings of people in Iceland are mixed. Some are feeling very anxious because of the earthquakes and others are feeling excited about the prospect of an eruption. Of course, there are probably some people who don’t care at all. It’s important to know that Icelandic buildings have been made to withstand large earthquakes, so that is something we don’t need to worry about. I’m in the group of people that are excited about all of this. Geological experts and other authorities have made it clear that we are not in any danger and they are doing their best to keep us all informed. Because of that, I feel comfortable being excited about possibly experiencing my first volcanic eruption.  5 Possible Scenarios if the Volcano Were to Erupt Below are the possible scenarios that have been outlined by experts. It is an excerpt from an Iceland Review article: The seismic unrest will die down in the next few days or weeks.If the seismic unrest will pick up, culminating in an earthquake up to M6 originating close to Fagradalsfjall.