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Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, the President of Iceland.

“When it matters, we stand together”

14 Jan 2024 “Now what we all hoped would not happen has happened,” President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson said in his address on National TV tonight about the volcanic eruption that began near Grindavík this morning.

Prime Minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Mayor of Reykjavík, Dagur B. Eggertsson and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bjarni Benediktsson have expressed their sadness for the residents of Grindavík having to go through this traumatic experience.

"Yet another shock that the residents of Grindavík are going through"

14 Jan 2024 Many MPs have spoken about the volcanic eruption that started at Hagafell on the Reykjanes peninsula this morning and they have been sending their warm wishes to Grindavík residents.

The fissure that opened up earlier today is at the edge of town to the north.

"You look at your house in the background"

14 Jan 2024 “You just look at your house in the background and you’re obviously not feeling well,” says Hlynur Sæberg Helgason, who lives with his family in a house at Efrahóp in Grindavík, a stone’s throw from the new fissure that opened up at the upper part of town.

It was deemed impossible to secure the safety of the rescue workers in the fissure which ultimately led to this hard decision to stop the search.

The search has stopped: "Everything that could be done, was done"

13 Jan 2024 The search for the man who was believed to have fallen into a fissure in Grindavík has been stopped. Emergency responders did everything they could to make it within the danger limit, according to Bogi Adolfsson, chairman of the rescue team Þorbjörn in Grindavík.

Rescue workers at work at Grindavík this morning.

Bridge put into the fissure: The water at the bottom might be 13 m deep

11 Jan 2024 Rescuers who participate in the search for the man who fell into a crater in Grindavík yesterday morning no longer need to use a basket to climb into the fissure.

"Worried about the situation"

9 Jan 2024 Víðir Reynisson, Director of Civil Protection, says that people are of course worried about the situation on the Reykjanes peninsula. There are strong indications that another eruption might be on the horizon.

The harbour in Grindavík coming to life

6 Jan 2024 It is expected that next week will bring all operations at Grindavík harbour back to life. “We need to start getting back home,” says Elvar Hreinsson of Klafar hf. The company has been working on landing services for boats and trawlers from Grindavík for a long time, but since last November most of them have been landed in Hafnarfjörður. Occasionally, boats have come in with catch to Grindavík, but this is an exception.

Luke Miani was impressed with the fireworks on New Year's Eve in Reykjavik.

Astounded by the nonstop fireworks

5 Jan 2024 Traveler Luke Miani spent the New Year’s Eve in Iceland, and he posted a video from New Year’s Eve on TikTok that has been very popular.

The forecast is for a mild winter weather tonight on New Year's Eve in most places.i

Better go gently into New Year's Eve

31 Dec 2023 The city of Reykjavik encourages people in the city to be careful on New Year’s Eve and to clean up properly and properly all debris from their fireworks.

Ína Björk, daughter of Benediktsdóttir, her sons-in-laws Gulli and Anton, as well as Elínborg herself by the snowman who has been named Einjólfur Snjóálfur Einisson after the street elf in Einihlíð.

The tallests snowman in Hafnarfjörður

28 Dec 2023 The enthusiasm of active family members in Einihlíð in Hafnarfjörður led to the creation of the nearly three-meter tall snowman they decided to call Einjólfur Snjóálfur Einisson.

It could be down to minus 26 degrees on New Year's Day according to the forecast of the Icelandic Met Office.

Icy cold weather in the charts

27 Dec 2023 “It will snow somewhere in the country most days, but the most snowfall is at least over for now here in the south and west,” says Óli Þór Árnason, meteorologist at the Icelandic Met Office, about the weather outlook for the next few days.

Árbæjarlaug swimming pool is closed over the holidays which the regular are not too happy about.

Tradition to go swimming on Christmas

24 Dec 2023 “It’s extremely popular with families to come here on Christmas Eve and has become a tradition for many, especially for people with younger children. We also have a lot of regular guests who come here at 6:30 on weekdays, senior citizens and people who are hanging out. So it’s a great social center,” says Sigríður B. Guðmundsdóttir, swimming pool manager at Suðurbæjarlaug swimming pool in Hafnarfjörður.

„Happy jólabókaflóð" is what the American booklovers say.

What is the deal with this "jólabókaflóð"?

23 Dec 2023 “This romantic idea of us cuddling with cocoa in wooden huts in a land of fire and ice appeals to many people,” says Heiðar Ingi Svansson, chairman of the Icelandic Publishers Association, who has been increasingly interested in the Icelandic Christmas "Jólabókaflóð" in recent years by booklovers all over the world.

The mayor of Grindavík asks the residents to be careful in his Christmas greeting.

The Mayor addresses the residents of Grindavík and sends a holiday greeting

23 Dec 2023 Fannar Jónasson, mayor of Grindavík, will address the town tonight and send out a Christmas greeting. He says he admires the resilience he has witnessed with the town’s people in recent weeks.

It is not yet known where exactly the eruption is and how far it is from Grindavík.

Emergency phase declared

18 Dec 2023 The National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police, in agreement with the Commissioner of the Police in Suðurnes, has decided to enter the emergency phase of the Civil Protection Agency due to the volcanic eruption in the Reykjanes peninsula. The Civil Protection Coordination Centre has been activated.