A volcanic eruption could destroy the Icelandic town of Grindavik or lead to extensive ash clouds, experts have warned. The country has been shaken by more than 2,000 small earthquakes in the past few days prompting fears the tremours could disrupt the Fagradalsfjall volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula in the southwest of the country. Thousands have been told to evacuate Grindavik as a precautionary measure as a magma tunnel stretches below the surface. If an eruption occurs in or close to the town, the consequences will be devastating, volcanologist Ármann Höskuldsson warned. He told news site RUV: “This is very bad news. One of the most serious scenarios is an eruption in the town itself, similar to that in Vestmannaeyjar, 50 years ago. "This is [would be] much worse," says Ármann. Ragga Ágústdóttir, who lives close to Grinvadik, said residents were fearful of what could happen if an eruption struck. “The scenario on the table now is that it will happen in or just north of the town of Grindavik. There’s no good option here,” she told The Independent. If a volcanic eruption does not happen in Grinvadik, one could occur out at sea, experts have said. MP Gisli Olafsson said the country was praying the “worst case scenarios do not happen”. He shared on X, formerly Twitter: “The situation in Grinvadik continues to become even more grave than before. The town has already suffered considerable damage from the earthquakes and from the shifts in the ground as the magma thrusts itself upwards.” He said a 15km magma tunnel could turn into a fissure vent eruption as the chamber beneath the area was two times larger than previous eruptions in Reykjanes over the past few years. There is a chance the eruption could occur under the ocean, resulting in an explosive eruption and extensive ash clouds, he said. “Scientists have warned that they may not be able to give any further warning of when the magma reaches the surface, making it quite dangerous to go in there,” he added. It comes as residents endured a less shaky night as 880 earthquakes below magnitude three were recorded overnight compared to the previous 1,485 earthquakes which rocked the country in previous days. Some 3,000 residents have been evacuated, with many forced to leave their pets behind. A meeting on Saturday afternoon determined that only residents from the Þórkätlustað district were safe to swiftly return to collect necessities, report RUV. Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, professor of geophysics, told RUV seismic activity continues, despite slowing down. He predicted three scenarios; the first is an eruption near Grindavik or north of the town; the second is that there is no eruption and the third, and least likely prediction, according to Mr Guðmundsson, is an undersea eruption. Iceland is highly susceptible to natural disasters as it lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge – a divergent plate boundary where the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate are moving away from each other, leading to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. “I don’t think it’s long before an eruption, hours or a few days. The chance of an eruption has increased significantly,” Thorvaldur Thordarson, professor of volcanology at the University of Iceland, told state broadcaster RUV yesterday. Reykjanes is a volcanic and seismic hot spot southwest of the capital Reykjavik. In March 2021, lava fountains erupted spectacularly from a fissure in the ground measuring between 500 750 metres long in the region’s Fagradalsfjall volcanic system. Read More Iceland: Thousands evacuated as fears of volcano eruption grow Iceland earthquakes: Your rights if you are on holiday there or are planning to go Mapped: Iceland earthquake locations revealed as volcano eruption alert issued Iceland volcano eruption could be ‘hours or days’, meteorologist warns Iceland evacuates town and raises aviation alert as concerns rise a volcano may erupt Warning volcanic eruption ‘could obliterate Grindavik’ as residents flee - latest

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A man has been receiving backlash for giving his opinions on parenting, despitehaving no children of his own. Mario Mirante took to TikTok to share a video about what he observed when he watched a mother and her son at a park. “Please watch the whole video before you comment. Thanks,” he captioned the clip, after the original was taken down. “The kid is just playing quietly, not being annoying. I don’t hear a peep from him, he’s just doing his thing on the playground,” Mirante said. “The mom the entire time is on her phone, staring right down at her screen. Doesn’t look up one time.” He explained that as he walked by, he noticed the child sitting on top of the slide. “I hear: ‘Hey mom, watch. Watch, Mom,’” Mirante recalled. “And at the top of her lungs, shrieking like a Velociraptor, this mother screams: ‘One second!!!’” The TikToker claimed the mother yelled so loudly that he stopped abruptly to hear what the problem was. When her child heard his mother scream, Mirante claimed that he looked “terrified” and confused, thinking that he upset his mother. “He wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Mirante said. “Mom never looks up from the screen as the kid goes down [the slide].” Mirante added that he is most definitely “judging” the mother based on what he saw in those few minutes. “When your kid isn’t doing something wrong, or in danger, you probably shouldn’t scream at them. It might have some traumatic effects in the future,” he declared, before asking: “Are you guys that attached to your phones?” @mariomirante Please watch the whole video before you comment. Thanks ♬ original sound - Mario Mirante He explained that his original video was taken down due to the amount of negative comments, with people telling him he shouldn’t judge a mother when he is not a parent himself. According to Mirante, some TikTokers told him that “maybe the mom needs a break and she takes him to the park to get that break” or that the mother could’ve been a single mom. Even content creator Abby Eckel stitched Mirante’s TikTok, explaining in a separate video that he has never experienced being the default parent. “A default parent is typically one who is ‘first in line’ when it comes to caring for children, child-related responsibilities, or home-related tasks,” clinical psychologist Amber Thornton wrote in Psychology Today. “If you have never been the default parent, and you don’t know what it’s like to be constantly needed all day, every day if you’re not the one consistently and constantly regulating your child’s emotional needs while also having to regulate your own, which also likely means that you’re having to relearn how to do that because you weren’t taught that as a child,” Eckel said in her TikTok video. “I think it’s wise if you pipe down.” @itsme_abbye If youve never been a parent, please sit down. ♬ original sound - Marriage & Motherhood Many people agreed with Mirante’s video, while others continued to disagree in the comments section. “I am a single mom, I 100 per cent agree with you. Kids remember who is actually PRESENT with them, not glued to their phone, the TV etc etc,” one commenter wrote. “That feeling of ‘but what did I do wrong?’ will stay with that child for a long time. It can be very damaging,” another comment read. “My kid used to say ‘mom’ every five secs. It was a joke in the family. I’d lose my mind about 2 per cent of the time about it. You just caught a bad moment,” one commenter pointed out. Another person wrote: “I thought the same way as you. And then I became a parent. Until you become a parent, you do not understand the struggle.” The Independent has contacted Mirante for comment. Read More The tyrannical fear of being ‘left on read’ is wrecking romance Bride warms hearts after having 104-year-old grandfather serve as ring bearer at her wedding Mother’s TikTok calling out parenting ‘double-standards’ resonates with women everywhere Schoolboy almost dies from swallowing magnets for TikTok challenge Woman shares honest review of New York City apartment TikTok mom slammed after making 5-year-old son run in 104 degree heat

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