AFTER FOUR WEEKS OF INCESSANT seismic activity disrupting their sleep, a certain loopiness began to take hold of the longsuffering residents of Grindavík. By 10 November 2023, many people had left this small fishing town on the south-west coast of Iceland. Plenty more, though, went about their Friday night plans as usual. Oblivious to the scale of the volcanic timebomb ticking under their home, Brynhildur Blomsterberg, 58, and her partner, Ólafur Sigurpálsson, 75, were preparing to host their joint birthday party and were expecting 20 guests.
"We had hundreds of lamb chops to get ready," says Blomsterberg, a nurse. "We were frying and the town was just shaking." When, at about midday on Friday, she called Sigurpálsson to suggest they move the celebrations out of Grindavík, the former sailor and fish exporter said no, reassuring her it would die down. There was an element of business-as-usual: Grindavík had experienced regular earthquakes since 2020, and three volcanic eruptions in as many years. Sure enough, 12 guests made it to their house, just as parts of the town started cracking open, including the main street. Some of the fissures were 20 metres deep.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 31, 2024 من The Guardian Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 31, 2024 من The Guardian Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Life in motion
After the Oscar success of a little-known Latvian animation called Flow, are the artform's budget film-makers on the brink of new recognition?
'Ceasefire' is a hollow word - the killings and denial of aid continue
It has been nearly two months since a ceasefire came into effect in Gaza, and it's clear that it would more accurately be called a \"reduce\" fire, rather than a cessation.
Policy jolts Businesses blindsided by Trump tariff uncertainty
Donald Trump declared there to be \"no room left\" for a deal with Canada and Mexico last week, launching a trade war against his nation's closest allies that he presented as a bid to protect America's soul. Then he pulled back.
Crap jobs, toxic politics: no wonder happiness evades young people
So there are two studies, one commissioned by Weetabix, one by the UN, but we don't need to decide which one is likely to be the more reliable because, praise be, they both say the same thing: 45 is now the age of peak happiness.
Keeping their distance Populists in a tight spot over support for Trump
Europe's rightwing populist parties are split over how far to distance themselves from Donald Trump's pressure on Ukraine, with some fearing solidarity with the US president's brand of nationalism will damage their efforts to widen their domestic support.
Evidence of beatings, torture and starvation at RSF base
Lying between the makeshift graves is a mattress, a large bloodstain visible in the midday sun. A name is scrawled in Arabic on its ragged fabric: Mohammed Adam.
New surgery restores smell for long Covid sufferers
Doctors in London have successfully restored a sense of smell and taste in patients who lost it due to long Covid with pioneering surgery that expands their nasal airways to kickstart their recovery.
Dark secrets Stargazing heaven put at risk by energy plant
In the Atacama desert, the driest non-polar region on Earth, the sky shines when the sun sets. Up in the arid hills 130km south of the Chilean city of Antofagasta, comets burn brightly and flawless trails of stars and nebulae streak the night sky.
Find the whey: tempting ideas to make the most of cottage cheese
Why is everyone talking about cottage cheese, and can you make anything that's actually good with it?
Recasting India's electoral map risks deepening its north-south divide
When Narendra Modi's alliance won a narrow majority in last year's Indian election, it signalled his waning popularity after a decade in power.
