‘This is the end’: people who fled Icelandic volcano fear their town will not survive
A s lava sprayed out of a volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula for the third time in as many months on Thursday, Sigurdur Enoksson felt the eruption spelled an end to his life in the town he had called home for three decades.
“This did it. I think we lost this battle,” said Sigurdur, who owns a family bakery employing 10 people in Grindavík. “After 29 years of having my bakery, I think this is the end. I think we are not coming back [to] Grindavík.” The latest eruption did not pose a direct threat to the town, but caused lava to hit water pipes in the region, affecting hot water supply for more than 20,000 people.
Sigurdur, 59, was planning to wind down towards retirement before the onset of the cataclysmic eruptions that have destroyed homes and wrenched gaping cracks in the Earth. The town’s future has since been thrown into question, with scientists fearing volcanic outbreaks could continue for years. “They’re saying eruption [could] be part of our lives for maybe years. How can you [run] a business with that?
“I own my bakery and my house and have no debts – then suddenly something happens and you’re up in the air. The question is if the government will pay us out. They’re doing their best but it’s slow. Those people whose houses were completely ruined are lucky, because they got paid,” he said. Last month, the prime minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, said the government was considering taking over the properties and offering compensation.
