Popular destination evacuated over risk of natural disaster "There was a panic situation," described a local cab driver

International news
2023-11-18

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.

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.

'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.

Источник: the Street
https://thestreet.com/travel/iceland-blue-lagoon-evacuated-volcano-risk