Icelandic museum collects stories from Grindavík earthquake and evacuation

The National Museum of Iceland and Grindavík municipality have launched a joint initiative to collect personal stories and experiences related to the recent seismic activity on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula. The effort aims to document the impact of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the dramatic evacuation of Grindavík on November 10, 2023.

Residents are invited to share their accounts through a new questionnaire. The project seeks a wide range of stories, encouraging participation from anyone affected by the events, whether they were close to the seismic activity or not. Sigurlaug Dagsdóttir, a specialist at the National Museum's folklore department, emphasized that all stories are considered valuable and that participants are free to skip questions they do not wish to answer.

The seismic events, which began in early 2020, have led to significant disruptions, including the urgent evacuation of Grindavík where residents had only minutes to grab essential belongings. The ongoing collection of personal narratives aims to preserve the human experience of these natural disasters for historical record.

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We want as many stories as possible and diverse ones. The questionnaire is open for everyone to answer, whether people were very close to or far from the events. All stories are interesting. If people do not relate to certain questions, they are free to skip it.