A volcano erupted late Monday night in southwest Iceland after weeks of intense earthquakes, according to the country’s Met Office.
Last year, authorities, fearing a significant eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, evacuated nearly 4,000 residents of the fishing town of Grindavik and closed the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal resort.
Warning: Eruption has started north of Grindavik by Hagafell.
The Meteorological Bureau made that announcement on its website, noting that the eruption began just a few kilometres away from the city, with cracks in the ground stretching towards a village about 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik.
“Seismic activity together with measurements from GPS devices indicate that the magma is moving to the southwest and the eruption may continue in the direction of Grindavik.”
The crack in the earth’s surface was about 3.5 kilometres long and growing rapidly, the Meteorological Bureau added. The agency reported 100 to 200 cubic metres (3,530 to 7,060 cubic feet) of lava ejected per second, several times more than previous eruptions in the area.
Local police stated that they had raised the alert level due to the outbreak, with the country’s civil defence warning the public not to approach the area until emergency officials assess the situation.
Located between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, one of the largest on the planet, Iceland is a seismic and volcanic hotspot as the two plates move in opposite directions.
Eruptions are difficult to predict. In mid-November, Grindavik residents were evacuated from their homes in the middle of the night as the ground shook, roads cracked and buildings suffered structural damage. At the time, seismologists believed an eruption was imminent, but geological activity later diminished.
In March 2021, fountains of lava erupted from a 500 to 750 metre (1,640 to 2,460 ft) long fissure in the ground in the Fagradalsfjall volcanic system. Volcanic activity in the area lasted for six months that year, prompting thousands of Icelanders and tourists to visit the site. In August 2022, a three-week eruption occurred in the same area, followed by another in July this year.
