dcf.cymru stimulus sheet · Geography · Year 9

Eldvík eruption: reports, posts and channel rules

Eldvík is an invented town, and this eruption is invented. The reports, notices, posts, people, school group and figures are invented for this lesson, with the reports written in the style of Icelandic Met Office updates. The science fact card and the note about Grindavík are real.

1: The situation

You are the communications team for Eldvík, a town of about 3,200 people on the Reykjanes peninsula in south-west Iceland. It is Wednesday morning and an eruption has started 3 km away. Two roads lead out: the north road towards Reykjavík and the coast road east to Sandvellir, a village 15 km away.

A real event: in November 2023 the real town of Grindavík, also on the Reykjanes peninsula, was evacuated after intense earthquake activity.

2: Science fact card (real)

Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a constructive (divergent) plate boundary. The North American plate and the Eurasian plate are moving apart, by about 2 cm a year.
As the plates move apart, magma rises from the mantle to fill the gap. It can collect a few kilometres below the surface.
Earthquake swarm: hundreds of small earthquakes in one area in a short time. Moving magma forces its way through rock and cracks it.
Ground uplift: magma collecting underground pushes the ground up. GPS stations and satellites measure the rise in centimetres.
Fissure eruption: magma reaches the surface along a long crack. The runny lava flows downhill and destroys roads, pipes and buildings in its path.
Sulfur dioxide (SO₂): a gas released from the magma. It irritates the eyes, throat and lungs, especially for people with asthma. The wind carries it.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office (Veðurstofa Íslands) monitors earthquakes, ground movement and gas. Iceland’s emergency number is 112.

3: Official timeline (invented)

Ref	Time and source	Report
A	Monday 07:00 Icelandic Met Office	An earthquake swarm began at 02:00 about 4 km north of Eldvík. More than 600 earthquakes have been recorded. The largest was magnitude 4.1. Most were 2 to 6 km deep. Magma may be moving underground, so an eruption is possible in the coming days.
B	Monday 18:00 Icelandic Met Office	GPS stations show that the ground north of Eldvík has risen by 5 cm since Friday. Satellite images show the same uplift. Magma is collecting about 4 km below the surface. Earthquakes continue.
C	Tuesday 09:00 Eldvík emergency coordinator	Prepare to leave at short notice. Pack medicines, documents, phone chargers and warm clothes. Keep your car fuelled.
D	Wednesday 03:15 Icelandic Met Office	An eruption began at 02:50. A fissure about 2 km long has opened 3 km north-east of Eldvík. Lava is flowing south-west, towards the town. Gas pollution, mainly sulfur dioxide, will drift south-west with the wind today.
E	Wednesday 03:30 Eldvík emergency coordinator	Everyone must leave Eldvík now. Lava has crossed the north road, so it is closed. Leave by the coast road east. Go to the reception centre at Sandvellir sports hall, open 24 hours. Call 112 if you need help to leave.
F	Wednesday 08:00 Icelandic Met Office	The lava front is 900 m from the nearest houses on the north-east edge of Eldvík. It is moving at about 100 m per hour, although this speed can change. Sulfur dioxide levels in Eldvík are high. Anyone still in the town should stay indoors with windows closed until they can leave.

4: Our own mistake

Posted on the Eldvík town social media account at Wednesday 05:10, by a tired team member working from an old note. It has been shared 300 times.

Roads update: all roads out of Eldvík are open. Drivers heading for Reykjavík, use the north road as normal.

5: The rumour

Posted at Wednesday 07:20 by @EldvikNewsNOW, which is not an official account. It has been shared 4,000 times.

BREAKING!!! My mate’s cousin works at the power station and says a SECOND crack has opened under the harbour and the whole town will be gone by lunchtime. The airport is shut too. SHARE before they delete this!!! [video of glowing lava, captioned “filmed today”]

6: A messy draft

A new team member wrote this at 08:15 for the town website. It must not go out as it is.

there is an eruption and its near the town and the lava is coming and its 500m away now and people are saying the harbour has cracked as well so everyone get out and Mrs Guðrún Jónsdóttir of Norðurgata 12 who is 84 and uses oxygen needs a lift her mobile number is [number removed for this worksheet] and the gas is bad and the coast road is open but the north road isnt so go east and dont panic its fine probably

7: Who needs to hear from us

Audience	What we know about them
Residents	Most read Icelandic. Many older residents do not use social media, but nearly all have a phone that gets the emergency text.
Tourists	About 150 people in 2 hotels and a campsite. Many have hire cars, and satnavs may send them up the closed north road.
A Welsh school group	22 Year 10 pupils and 3 teachers from Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Tawelan on a GCSE Geography field trip, staying at the town guesthouse. Their parents in Wales are watching the news and the town’s social media.
People who do not read Icelandic	Most tourists and some residents. Use plain English: short sentences, no slang, 24-hour clock times and place names spelt as on road signs.

8: Channel rules

Channel	Rules
Emergency text alert	Goes to every mobile phone in the area. 160 characters or fewer: letters, numbers, spaces and punctuation all count. Only for immediate danger. Say what is happening, what to do and where to go. No web addresses.
Town website update	The full official record. Give the time of the update and the source. Explain what is happening, why, and what people should do. Corrections are added at the bottom with the time.
Social media post	280 characters or fewer, not counting the image. Every image needs alt text: 1 or 2 sentences describing what it shows, for people who use screen readers. Point people to the website. Correct a mistake with a new post or a reply; never delete it quietly.

Image you may use: an Icelandic Met Office map showing the fissure, the edge of the lava flow, Eldvík, the closed north road and the open coast road east.

Rules for every channel: only share information from the Icelandic Met Office or the Eldvík emergency coordinator. Never share anyone’s name, address, phone number, age or health details. Do not repeat a rumour’s claims in full.