Evacuees scramble back to save pets as Icelandic volcano poised to erupt again

Some of the more than 3,000 residents evacuated from an Icelandic fishing town have been allowed to return briefly to their homes to collect pets and essential belongings, as experts warned that a volcano could erupt within days or even hours.

- Jon Henley

One resident from each household in one district of Grindavík was permitted to enter their home for five minutes on Sunday in what Iceland’s civil defence force called a “planned and controlled operation under the orders of the police”.

The residents were driven in emergency vehicles and accompanied by civil defence workers, and the force appealed to other residents “not to drive towards Grindavík at all”. It added: “This is a responsibility and not a trivial decision.”

A coastguard helicopter circled above the Þórkátlustað district of the town ready to airlift residents out if the volcano erupted while they were collecting pets and essential belongings, a spokesperson told the public broadcaster RÚV.

The town, about 25 miles (40km) from the capital, Reykjavik, on Iceland’s south-western coast, was evacuated early on Saturday after magma shifting under the earth’s crust caused hundreds of earthquakes, likely precursors to an eruption.

Danielle Rodriguez, an American basketball professional who plays and coaches in Grindavík, described the emergency evacuation on X, saying her team’s Saturday practice had been interrupted by “constant four- and five-magnitude earthquakes”.