A volcano in Iceland was erupting yesterday, with geysers of molten lava shooting into the pitch-black night sky after weeks of seismic activity had the region southwest of the capital on high alert.
The eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, just north of the fishing town Grindavik, began on Monday at about 10:17pm after an earthquake swarm, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said, referring to a series of small quakes.
Live-streamed footage of the eruption showed glowing orange jets of lava spewing from a gash in the ground, surrounded by billowing clouds of red smoke.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Icelandic Coast Guard
“We hope for the best but it is clear this is a considerable eruption,” Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir wrote on Facebook.
For weeks, the Nordic nation had been anticipating an eruption on the peninsula southwest of the capital after intense earthquake activity, which prompted authorities to evacuate thousands of people and close the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa famed for its turquoise waters.
The meteorological office estimated that the volcano had opened a fissure about 4km long, with the southern end just 3km away from Grindavik.
By 3am yesterday, the meteorological office said the intensity of the eruption had stabilized, but was unable to estimate how long it would last.
“We now wait to see what the forces of nature have in store,” Icelandic President Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson wrote on social media.
He added that protecting lives and infrastructure was the priority.
Icelandic Department of Civil Protection head Vidir Reynisson urged people to stay away from the area, telling a local television station: “This is no tourist eruption.”
Despite fears prior to the eruption of the possible havoc it could cause global travel, Reykjavik’s international airport remained open.
“For the time being, no disruptions to arrivals or departures at Keflavik airport,” operator ISAVIA said.
Since October, thousands of earthquakes had been detected on the Reykjanes Peninsula, a possible precursor to an impending volcanic eruption. About 4,000 people were evacuated from Grindavik, a fishing port about 40km from Reykjavik, on Nov. 11 after scientists determined that a tunnel of magma was shifting beneath them.
Residents said the series of small earthquakes — sometimes hundreds per day — had damaged roads and buildings.
Since then, they have only been allowed to visit their homes during certain daylight hours.
Authorities have organized occasional trips into the village, escorting those with homes in the most perilous parts as they rescued everything from cherished pets to photograph albums, furniture and clothing.
Volcanic eruptions are not uncommon in Iceland, which is home to 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe, but the Reykjanes Peninsula had not experienced an eruption for eight centuries until 2021.
Since then, three have struck, in 2021, last year and earlier this year — all in remote, uninhabited areas. Volcanologists say this could be the start of a new era of activity in the region.
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