This is the incredible moment a volcano erupted in Iceland, sending a huge fountain of lava into the air from a two-mile-long fissure.
The eruption began around 6 a.m., sending lava high into the air along a 3-kilometer-long fissure northeast of Mount Sundhnukur, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.
The latest dramatic activity comes less than two months after a previous eruption in the area forced the evacuation of the coastal town of Grindavik.
Coast Guard surveillance indicated that the eruption was occurring in the same area that occurred on December 18 in southwestern Iceland.
The Met Office said lava was flowing west and there was no immediate threat to the town of Grindavik, evacuated after a previous eruption late last year, or a major power plant in the area.
A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted on Thursday, less than two months after an earlier eruption in the area forced the evacuation of the coastal town of Grindavik.
The eruption began around 6 a.m., sending lava high into the air along a 3-kilometer-long fissure northeast of Mount Sundhnukur, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.
‘At 5:30 this morning intense seismic activity began northeast of Sylingarfell. About 30 minutes later, an eruption began in the same area,” the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) reported in a statement.
The IMO added that, according to an initial assessment of a Coast Guard overpass, the crack was approximately two miles long.
Icelandic national broadcaster RUV said the nearby famous Blue Lagoon thermal spa, one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions, was closed when the eruption began and guests were evacuated to hotels.
It would be closed until Thursday, the station said.
This is the third eruption since December from a volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula, where Keflavik, Iceland’s main airport, is located.
No disturbances were reported at the airport on Thursday.
Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages an eruption every four to five years, although as of March 2021, the Reykjanes Peninsula had not experienced an eruption in eight centuries.
New eruptions occurred in August 2022, July and December 2023, leading volcanologists to say it was likely the beginning of a new era of activity in the region.
The country straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor that separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
The IMO added that, according to an initial assessment of an overpass by the Coast Guard, the crack (seen this morning) was approximately two miles long.
This is the third eruption since December from a volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula, where Keflavik, Iceland’s main airport, is located.
Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages an eruption every four to five years, although as of March 2021, the Reykjanes Peninsula had not experienced an eruption in eight centuries.
People watch the erupting volcano, north of Grindavik, Iceland, on Thursday
A volcano spews lava and smoke as it erupts near Grindavik on the Reykjanes Peninsula on February 8.
The most disruptive in recent times was the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and caused widespread airspace closures in Europe.
Grindavik, a town of 3,800 about 30 miles southwest of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, was evacuated in November when the Svartsengi volcanic system awoke after nearly 800 years with a series of earthquakes that opened large cracks in the earth between the town and Sýlingarfell, a small mountain to the north.
The volcano finally erupted on December 18, sending lava away from Grindavik. A second eruption that began on January 14 sent lava toward the city.
Defensive walls that had been reinforced since the first eruption stopped some of the flow, but could not save some of the city’s buildings.
Two cracks formed during the second eruption, and the second appeared just outside the city, sending orange lava into the streets and reducing three houses to ashes.
Due to volcanic eruptions, Grindavik’s future has been shrouded in uncertainty for the past few months and residents are still unable to return to their homes.
“The lava is flowing mainly westwards at this time and the flow appears to be slightly less than at the beginning of the December 18 eruption,” the IMO said.
Lava flows from a volcano and burns houses in Grindavik, Iceland, January 14, 2024
The remains of houses destroyed by a lava flow following a volcanic eruption on the outskirts of the town of Grindavik, Iceland, on January 17.
Construction workers erect earthworks to divert lava flow following a volcanic eruption outside the town of Grindavik, Iceland, on January 17.
Icelandic national broadcaster RUV said the nearby famous Blue Lagoon thermal spa (pictured, file photo), one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions, was closed when the eruption began and guests were evacuated to hotels.
The lava fountains reached between 50 and 80 meters high and the volcanic column rose about three kilometers above the fissure, the IMO said.
Seismologist Kristin Jonsdottir said the location of the new eruption was “lucky” as it was north of Grindavik and away from infrastructure, RUV reported.
On Monday, the IMO said magma accumulation beneath the area continued.
“Similar processes were observed before previous dike intrusions and eruptions north of Grindavik in January 2024 and December 2023,” the agency said, noting that “there is an increased likelihood of a new magmatic dike intrusion and subsequent eruption.” volcanic in the next few days to weeks.’