Every year, more than one million visitors descend on a tiny town in Iceland for one of the country's most-Instagrammed destinations.
The country's Blue Lagoon is a natural hot spring that gets its bright blue color from the silica deposits that reflect the light.
But while the lagoon's proximity to the lava fields of the Reykjanes Peninsula are what helped create this natural wonder, they also place the area at risk of unexpected volcanic activity.
Related: Travelers are paying big money to see an exploding volcano in Iceland
After a series of earthquakes roiled the local area (this indicates to meteorologists that an explosion could be on the way), local authorities made the call to evacuate the nearby fishing town of Grindávik and close down the Blue Lagoon, Silica Hotel, Retreat Spa, Retreat Hotel, Lava and Moss Restaurant to tourists until Thursday, Nov. 16.
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'There was a panic situation,' taxi driver describes
"There was a panic situation," local taxi driver Bjarni Stefansson told The Associated Press. "People thought a volcanic eruption was about to happen."
Iceland's Meteorological Office said that it was "closely monitoring the situation and analyzing the developments" to see whether it would be necessary to extend the Nov. 16 closure or be possible to bring back the residents and reopen the tourist attractions.
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"At this stage, it is not possible to determine exactly whether and where magma might reach the surface," the Meteorological Office said in a statement on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. It also clarified that it could happen "anytime in the next few days."
Guests who had already booked stays at the Blue Lagoon and nearby hotels worked with the businesses to receive refunds or reschedule their visits.
Iceland is at constant risk of volcanic explosions (here are some bad ones)
As there is no way to determine the strength of a volcano explosion ahead of time, authorities are taking a cautious approach to preventing loss of life. While Iceland's nickname as the "land of fire and ice" means that it is at constant risk of volcanic activity, a particularly disruptive explosion occurred in 2010 when Eyjafjallajökull broke through a glacier and created a large ash cloud over the territory that planes use to cross from North America to Europe.
Earlier this year, another "baby volcano" was created in Iceland when part of a mountain called Fagradalsfjal cracked open and started sending small jets of molten lava into the air. The explosion was also small enough to not cause any damage beyond some heavy smoke in the area but the crater that was created from the explosion sent hordes of tourists to the area despite it being blocked off by local authorities.
Most were looking to capture the red glow from the crater and the local Tourism Board eventually set aside a path for a distant view in order to discourage visitors from putting themselves in danger by getting closer.
While none of the volcano explosions in Iceland in the last 50 years have caused loss of life, this situation is seen as a danger by local meteorologists due to the risk of noxious gases that could erupt into the area around Grindávik and the Blue Lagoon if the volcano erupts.
