Iceland’s town still reeling from volcanic eruption aims to rebuild

GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Vignir Kristinsson smiled as two women, the only customers of the morning, entered a gift shop filled with handmade oak. One woman purchased a small tree stained black after perusing a variety of decorative items, from animals to kitchen cutting boards.

Christinson, 64, said he made a living making cabinets for decades, but his daughter convinced him to turn his passion for woodworking into a business. Five years ago, he and his wife opened a store in Grindavik, a coastal town of 3,800 people about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik. Business was good.

Then the volcano began to erupt.

Since December 2023, nine eruptions have occurred near Grindavik, repeatedly forcing residents to evacuate and forcing authorities to shut down the town for days or months.

“I’m supposed to be running a business when people are being told they shouldn’t come,” Christinson said. “How is that possible?”

Iceland is known for its volcanoes

Icelanders are no strangers to eruptions. Those near Grindavik come from the Sundnuxgigal crater chain, a series of volcanic fissures that are part of the Svartsengi volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

The system was dormant for 783 years before its first eruption nearly two years ago.

Scientists say the volcanic activity is not over yet. The Icelandic Meteorological Office, which monitors the volcano, announced in September that a 10th eruption could occur in the coming months. We don’t know how long the activity will last.

Residents say they are used to constant stress.

“When we had to leave, we only had five minutes to get our bags,” said Kristrina Øsk Grzyjonsdóttir, 18, recalling her first evacuation in November 2023.

Since then, Gudjonsdóttir has been attending high school in Keflavík, about 23 kilometers north of Grindavik. With schools closed, she said it has been difficult for her friends to maintain a sense of community.

“I know a lot of kids want to come back,” she said.

Vacant houses are also a sign of recovery

In parts of Grindavik and surrounding areas, lava has buried roads and houses, and sharp rocks have been smoldering for months. The violent shaking caused by the movement of magma underground caused large cracks in the ground, causing cracks in roads and houses.

Most residents have moved out, but some have remained. They are both exhausted by the chaos and ultimately want to return to normal life.

But it feels far away. Most businesses are closed. Tourists may be the biggest sign of human activity. They flew a drone over a vast lava layer on the outskirts of Grindavik to survey the town and its damage.

Still, there are signs of a gradual recovery. The local professional basketball team recently began playing in town again, and officials are discussing the possibility of opening a school next year. According to local news, more residents are returning, but it is not clear how many.

The mayor’s office did not respond to requests for an interview.

Former residents consider what to do with their homes

Residents said the government offered to buy their homes starting in early 2024, and many accepted. They were given three years to decide whether to buy it back. The government has not made similar proposals for commercial real estate.

The decision to buy back a home is likely to depend on many factors, including the extent to which their lives have moved elsewhere.

Craftsman Kristinsson said his wife had made it clear she did not want to return to Grindavik. After living in their daughter’s garage for a month and then in a cousin’s apartment for six months, the couple bought a house in Hafnarfjordur, 42 kilometers (26 miles) northeast of Grindavik.

Kristinsson comes to Grindavik to open his shop, but sometimes he spends the night there when he can rent out the apartment he built on the second floor to tourists. He called that income a lifeline.

“The people who live here now want things to get back to normal sooner,” he says.

For Sigurdur Enoksson, 60, owner of the Herastubbur Bakari bakery, the decision to buy back his house is easy. “no”.

As Enochson and his wife discussed the decision on a recent day, he showed them cellphone photos of cracks in the wall. They currently live in Kopavogur, about 47 kilometers (29 miles) northeast of Grindavik.

But the family plans to continue contributing to the town through their bakery, which just celebrated its 30th anniversary. To keep the business afloat, the company reduced its workforce from 13 to three: Mr. Enochson, his wife, and his son.

It’s difficult to know how long to bake. Depending on the day, all items may be sold. Some days I am forced to hand out pastries.

“We don’t always have customers every day,” Enochson said. “We are doing our best.”

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