Living under one of Iceland's most dangerous volcanoes, as it starts rumbling
Updated
Do you remember Eyjafjallajokull — the obscure, unpronounceable Icelandic volcano that woke up in 2010 after nearly two centuries of slumber, grounding a large portion of the world's planes?
Well imagine living under its bigger, more dangerous cousin.
The large volcano, called Katla, is long overdue for a violent explosion and recently started rumbling.
At the base of Katla is a tiny town called Vik, and its residents have been living in the shadow of the expected eruption.
Iceland's most notorious volcanoes:
- Hekla
- Katla
- Eyjafjallajokull
- Grimsvotn
- Hengill
- Reykjanes
- Surtsey
"It's just normal life for us. We don't worry, but we are prepared," said Palmi Kristjansson, a hotel manager in Vik.
"I'm kind of expecting it to erupt, I want to live it — but I know that's a stupid thing to say because many people will [experience] damage."
Katla is covered by Iceland's fourth largest glacier, and in places the ice is hundreds of metres thick.
It's one of the country's most feared volcanoes.
When it last erupted in 1918, it extended Iceland's south coast by up to five kilometres and the melting glacier unleashed a torrent of water, mud and icebergs — claimed to be similar in volume to the Amazon.
When it blows again, Vik could be flooded and it's likely it would be very quickly coated in ash.
"It will be big [the eruption]. Katla normally erupts about twice a century, so it is ready," Mr Kristjansson said.
"They found ash from the last eruption in China."
With volcanoes comes tourism
Strong earthquakes last year briefly put everyone on alert and sent parts of the European media, fearful that the continent's airspace was about to be cut off again, into overdrive.
For Vik it also triggered a bit of soul searching.
The area has experienced a tourism boom over the past decade and police are worried about getting everyone out in time.
"It's been a few years since the last practise", Mr Kristjansson said.
"Last time it was almost a non-tourist town, and now we have 2,000 to 3,000 people here many nights".
However, the Eyjafjallajokull eruption did help to put the south of Iceland on the tourist trail.
And there's hope in Vik that Katla's eruption could bring even more visitors to the area, which is dotted with stunning waterfalls, rough and dangerous black sand beaches, and hardened lava fields.
"I've heard people talk about Katla erupting all my life. I would like to see it," Mr Kristjansson said.
"If it brings more people, then that's good too."
Topics: volcanic-eruption, disasters-and-accidents, travel-and-tourism, iceland
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