Icelandic authorities declared a state of emergency on Friday after a series of earthquakes rocked the Reykjanes peninsula in the country’s southwest, raising fears of a volcanic eruption in the region, AFP reported.

“The head of the national police (…) has declared a state of emergency for civil defense due to intense seismic activity in Sundhnjukagigar, north of Grindavik,” the civil defense office said in a statement.

“Earthquakes could become more significant” and “this series of events could lead to an eruption,” the administration warned.

According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), the eruption could occur “within days”.

Evacuation plans were put in place for the village of Grindavik, with a population of about 4,000, located three kilometers southwest of the area where a series of earthquakes were recorded on Friday.

The Directorate of Civil Defense also announced that it had sent the patrol vessel Thor to Grindavik “for security reasons”.

On Thursday, the Blue Lagoon, a tourist attraction near Grindavik known for its geothermal spas, was already closed as a precaution.

At around 17:30 GMT on Friday, two earthquakes, the strongest of which had a magnitude of 5.2, were felt as far away as the capital Reykjavik, some forty kilometers away, and along much of the country’s southern coast.

Since the end of October, about 24,000 earthquakes have been recorded on the peninsula