Foreign Office issues Iceland travel warning amid volcanic eruption fears

The Foreign Office has warned travellers heading to Iceland as concerns grow over “increased earthquakes and indications of volcanic activity”. It comes as the country delaced a state of emergency in the south-west of the country, with residents being evacuated from a fishing town as a precaution.

Authorities decided to evacuate Grindavik after recent seismic activity in the area moved south toward the town and monitoring indicated that a corridor of magma, or semi-molten rock, now extends under the community, Iceland’s Meteorological Office said. The town, which has a population of 3,400, is on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 30 miles south-west of the capital, Reykjavik.

Iceland’s Meteorological Office warned: “At this stage, it is not possible to determine exactly whether and where magma might reach the surface. Authorities also raised their aviation alert to orange, indicating an increased risk of a volcanic eruption."

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Air travel can be seriously affected by volcanic eruptions because they can spew highly abrasive ash high into the atmosphere, where it can cause jet engines to fail, damage flight control systems and reduce visibility. A major eruption in Iceland in 2010 caused widespread disruption to air travel between Europe and North America, costing airlines an estimated three billion dollars (£2.45 billion) as they cancelled more than 100,000 flights.

The evacuation comes after the region was shaken by hundreds of small earthquakes every day for more than two weeks as scientists monitor a build-up of magma some three miles