The community of Grindavik in recent months has experienced the relentless forces of nature, proving once again why the Iceland is often called “Land of Fire and Ice”.

Three houses in southwest Iceland were destroyed this month when molten lava spewed through two fissures created by the Svartsengi volcanic system.

Fresh warning for #Iceland ⚠️ after massive#Volcano eruption following an earthquake swarm in Jan. Videos captured rivers of molten lava flowing into nearby Grindavik town and setting houses ablaze!
The Icelandic Met Office has now warned that magma beneath Reykjanes Peninsula… pic.twitter.com/FnT1wnJJRE

Grindavikthe once bustling fishing village with sports teams and a young population, now is empty. Her people have fled and are beginning to realize that they may never be able to live there again.

So uncertain is their future, one woman said she wished her house had been swallowed by the lava.

In the past three years, the peninsula – about the size of the UK’s West Midlands – has witnessed five volcanic eruptions.

On November 10, faced with an alarming number of earthquakes and suspected magma beneath the city, Icelandic authorities ordered the evacuation of Grindavik, home to about 3,800 residents.

In the following days it became clear that many houses had been completely destroyed by the seismic activity. Residents had hoped to return to their homes as the frequency of earthquakes decreased – but in mid-December a powerful eruption began in the nearby series of craters that lasted for three days.

Tragedy struck on January 10 when a man working in the city fell through one of the crevasses. After a brief investigation, the operation was discontinued due to the hazards.

Four days later, another explosion started dangerously close to Grindavik.

From the Icelandic civil protection central command center in Reykjanesbaer, I watched the live feed of the eruption from the Sundhnuks series of craters.

In the weeks before the January eruption, the government had decided to erect protective walls in an attempt to prevent lava from flowing towards Grindavik and the nearby Svartsengi geothermal station.

In the early hours the protective walls proved useful, although the fissure had to some extent opened through one of the walls.

Iceland volcano: Grindavik’s people may never return after volcano spills lava into town https://t.co/O2Sf7tw2LR