Iceland is bracing for an imminent volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, in the southwest corner of the island. Grindavík, a small fishing town with a population of around 2,800 people, has been evacuated after a sinkhole measuring 3.2 feet (1 meter) deep appeared in the town.
Seismic activity began increasing in the area around the Fagradalsfjall volcano on Oct. 25, when more than 1,000 earthquakes north of Grindavík occurred in the space of just hours. Two strong earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 3.9 and 4.5, hit at a depth of around 3 miles (5 kilometers). Over the following two weeks, seismic activity continued, with hundreds of earthquakes and uplift recorded each day, indicating that magma is accumulating beneath the ground.
