Officials in Iceland reportedly have sent a large bulldozer to a region under threat of a volcanic eruption to dig massive ditches in hopes of diverting any potential lava flow away from key structures in the area.
The bulldozer, described as a Caterpillar D11, was traveling with a police escort to the Grindavík region early this morning and will be used to dig 3-mile-long trenches, according to Sky News.
Officials in Iceland warned Wednesday that the likelihood of a volcanic eruption remains “high” as hundreds of earthquakes are being recorded in the area.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office said since midnight yesterday, around “800 earthquakes have been measured, most of them in the middle of the magma dyke at Sundhnúk at a depth of about 3-5 km [1.8 to 3.1 miles].”
ICELAND OFFICIALS SAY ‘HIGH’ VOLCANIC ERUPTION POSSIBILITY
Sundhnúk is a little more than 2 miles to the north-northeast of Grindavík, a town in southwestern Iceland that has been evacuated because of the volcanic activity, according to FOX Weather.
As of Thursday, the town is now suffering from power outages as well,