Thousands evacuated as Iceland braces for imminent volcanic eruption

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00:00 Steam rises from a crack in the road near the fishing town of Grindavik in

00:05 Iceland, a precursor of what could come. The town's roughly 4,000 residents have

00:10 been evacuated amid concerns of an imminent volcanic eruption. "Earth can

00:15 just open up and swallow you, you never know, so it was really scary and

00:19 actually when I came here to safety I felt so good, so relieved." Over the past

00:26 two weeks, hundreds of small earthquakes have cracked rows in the area. Seismic

00:31 activity in the region decreased in size and intensity on Monday, according to the

00:36 Icelandic Meteorological Office. But it said the risk of a volcanic eruption

00:40 remains significant. Experts are worried about a huge underground fissure. It's 15

00:46 kilometers long and the magma could burst out of it. Scientists say they've

00:50 monitored a buildup of magma around five kilometers underground. This is similar

00:55 to what happened in 2021 when lava fountains erupted from a fissure that was

00:59 much smaller in the same area.

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