Evacuated Icelandic family spends Christmas away from home

Evacuated with her family from their home in an Icelandic fishing town in November over fears that a volcanic eruption was imminent, Kristin Maria Birgisdottir and her family are facing Christmas away from their hometown as it remains closed to residents. “All I would like for Christmas is for this to be over and for us to be able to move back. That’s the only thing I would like at this moment,” Birgisdottir, 43, said in the apartment she is sharing in Reykjavik with her three children, her younger brother and parents, whose home in Grindavik was damaged by seismic activity. The 4,000 residents of Grindavik were evacuated in early November from the town about 40 km (26 miles) southwest of the capital Reykjavik because of intense seismic activity. A volcanic eruption to the north of Birgisdottir’s hometown that started late on Monday (December 18) sent lava and smoke spewing into the air, lighting up the dark skies, before decreasing in intensity. Lava from the eruption flowed a