2024-03-18

Grindavík. Life before the Eruption │ Iceland Photo Gallery

Documenting Iceland

by: Rafn Sig,-

Grindavík er bær og sveitarfélag á sunnanverðum Reykjanesskaga. Sjávarútvegur og ferðaþjónusta eru aðalatvinnuvegirnir.

Samfelld byggð hefur verið í Grindavík frá landnámi. Samkvæmt Landnámu var Grindavík numin af þeim Molda-Gnúpi Hrólfssyni sem settist að í Grindavík og Þóri haustmyrkri Vígbjóðssyni sem nam Selvog og Krýsuvík, stuttu fyrir árið 934. Nafn bæjarins er hugsanlega dregið af grindverki eða hliði til varnar ágangi búfjár eða grindum sem komið er fyrir á vörðu sem siglingarmerki.

Jarðskjálftahrinur urðu kröftugar og reglulegar frá 2021 þegar Fagradalsfjallseldar brutust út. Bærinn var rýmdur að undangengnum miklum jarðhræringum að kvöldi 10. nóvember 2023. Kvikugangur hafði þá rutt sér til rúms á tiltölulega litlu dýpi undir bænum og óttast var að eldgos brytist út. Stutt en kraftmikið eldgos varð 18. desember um 3 kílómetra frá bænum. 10. janúar 2024 lést maður er hann féll ofan í sprungu í bænum. Lík hans fannst ekki. 13. janúar 2024 var ákveðið að loka bænum alveg. Gosið hófst aftur 14. janúar 2024 og náði að Grindavík, þannig að hraunið fór yfir þrjú hús.

Í jarðhræringunum 2023-2024 varð altjón á 74 húsum í bænum.

Grindavík is a fishing town on the Southern Peninsula of Iceland.

The origins of the municipality can be traced to Einar Einarsson’s decision to move there to build and run a shop in 1897. During that time the population was only around 360. Fishing had for centuries been a crucial element in the survival of Grindavik’s population, but fishing trips were often dangerous. Men were frequently lost at sea and the catch not always stable. However, when a safer access point to land was created at Hópið in 1939, fishing conditions changed dramatically. From 1950 serious development in the fishing industry had begun to take place. Grindavik was declared a municipality in 1974.

On 25 October 2023, an earthquake swarm started north of Grindavík and escalated over the next few days. A state of emergency was issued on 10 November 2023 as continued earthquakes – by then numbering over 22,000 since 25 October – signalled a potentially impending volcanic eruption. Inhabitants were ordered to evacuate on the evening of 10 November 2023, after a magmatic intrusion was suspected to have formed beneath the town.

On the morning of 14 January 2024 at 8:00 local time, a volcanic fissure erupted 450 meters from the town, followed by a second fissure opening around noon. Lava from the eruptions flowed into the town, breaching defensive barriers and destroying three houses. Civilians were not endangered by the volcanic activity as they had already been evacuated overnight due to a series of earthquakes.

On 9 February 2024, the Icelandic government published a bill to offer to buy residential property owned by individuals in Grindavík, and to take over housing loans on residential property in the town

. . All info at: https://www.patreon.com/RafnSig

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