James Stewart

Well, those were sacrificed.

RIP cars.

For Grintovic, however, the limits are laid bare.

No barrier on earth can protect a town from fissures that open directly beneath the streets.

Beyond this system of physical defences, scientists and authorities are looking at how else they can prepare for a circa 200 year eruptive period.

Plans include everything from relocating electricity masts and burying pipelines deeper within bedrock.

Major road networks are being redesigned to allow for rapid rerouting and AI is being drafted in to further improve forecasting.

Civil protection agencies around the world are closely watching this all unfold.

This is the first time a modern nation has tried to engineer its way through an ongoing volcanic crisis.

If it works, this will become the blueprint for a new form of geological urban defence.

One that fights against the slow, relentless forces of Earth itself.

Iceland truly is the ultimate land of fire, and it's as captivating as it is deadly, and that really isn't likely to change any time soon.

As the latest cycle of the Reykjanes fires takes hold, Iceland will once again brace itself, and the world will watch the latest round of humans versus nature.

Whatever the outcome this time around, the feeling is that at some point, something will have to give.

And for the sake of the people of Iceland and beyond, all we can do is hope it's not them.

Just before I leave you, I'd love your feedback on the pronunciation of some of these words because, oh, wow, were these ones tricky.

I committed.

I tried really hard.

I think it went OK.

If you got this far in the video and we did a good job, leave us an Iceland flag in the comments to let us know.