This was announced by the Icelandic Meteorological Office. The eruption north of the town of Grindavík had begun, the institute warned on its homepage on Tuesday night. The site was evacuated in November amid fears of an outbreak. The eruption was preceded by a week-long series of earthquakes.
Films and photos on Platform X showed orange-red glowing lava fountains shooting into the dark night sky and illuminating it brightly. According to media, the police asked onlookers not to approach the volcano. The crack in the earth’s surface is about 3.5 kilometers long and is expanding rapidly, the meteorological office said. The nearby Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik remained open.
About 100 to 200 cubic meters of lava flowed per second, many times more than in previous eruptions in the region, Icelandic seismologist Kristin Jonsdottir told public broadcaster RUV. Geophysicist Benedikt Ofeigsson from the Icelandic Meteorological Agency said the eruption was located at the Sundhnjúka crater, according to local media reports. Iceland’s President Gudni Jóhannesson wrote on Facebook that it was still unclear what damage the eruption could cause. He asked local people to follow all recommendations from emergency services “at this dangerous moment”.
The eruption had been feared – dozens of earthquakes had occurred in the past few weeks. The fishing village of Grindavík was evacuated in November because of this. Around 4,000 people were brought to safety. The Blue Lagoon tourist attraction, located just a few kilometers from town, was only reopened at the weekend after a temporary closure. It is only around 40 kilometers southwest of the capital Reykjavik. According to reports, there were no guests there at the time of the eruption.
Most recently, residents of Grindavík were allowed to enter their homes again during the day, according to Icelandic broadcaster RÚV. However, they were not allowed to return completely.
Iceland lies between the Eurasian and North American plates. Because the plates move in opposite directions, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur again and again in the island nation. In 2010, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano forced hundreds of Icelanders from their homes. Around 10,000 flights had to be canceled because of the ash cloud.
