A volcano in southwest Iceland has erupted, spewing lava and smoke across a large area after weeks of intense earthquake activity, the country’s Meteorological Office has said.
Fearing a significant outbreak on the Reykjanes peninsula, authorities had evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the fishing town of Grindavik in November after the area was hit by a “seismic swarm” of more than 1,000 earthquakes in 24 hours.
“Warning: Eruption has started north of Grindavik by Hagafell,” the Met Office said on its website on Monday, noting that the eruption had begun only a few kilometres from the town and cracks in the ground stretched toward the village located about 40km (25 miles) south-west of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik.
The eruption began at around 22:17 GMT after a series of small earthquakes at around 21:00, the Met Office added.
Images and livestreams by local news outlet RUV showed lava spewing from fissures in the ground.
“Seismic activity together with measurements from GPS devices indicate that the magma is moving to the south-west and the eruption may continue in the direction of Grindavik,” the Met Office said.
The crack in the earth’s surface was around 3.5 km (2.1 miles) long and had grown rapidly, it added.
Some 100 to 200 cubic metres (3,530 to 7,060 cubic feet) of lava emerged per second, several times more than in previous eruptions in the area, Icelandic seismologist Kristin Jonsdottir told public broadcaster RUV.
Local police said they had raised their alert level as a result of the outbreak and the country’s civil defence warned the public not to approach the area while emergency personnel assessed the situation.
Reykjavik’s international airport, which is located nearby, remained open albeit with numerous delays listed for both arrivals and departures.
The Reykjanes peninsula in recent years saw several eruptions in unpopulated areas, but the latest outbreak could pose a risk to the Grindavik town, authorities have said.
Although residents had been allowed to return to their homes between 7am and 9pm each day, and some businesses had reopened, they were not allowed to stay overnight or walk around the town.
They had been waiting for an update this week to find out whether the evacuation rules would be lifted in time for Christmas. The area had seen thousands of earthquakes in the last two months but the magnitudes had declined in recent week, leading some experts to think risk of an eruption had abated.
Many from the town are struggling amid housing shortages, and some are angry that they are still not allowed to stay in their homes overnight.
One person who lives in Grindavík was recently reportedly threatened with arrest after breaking the rules to stay at home with his wife for several nights.
The Blue Lagoon spa, one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, had reopened on Sunday, but was not taking bookings on Monday night.
Reykjanes is a volcanic and seismic hot-spot southwest of the capital Reykjavik. In March 2021, lava fountains erupted spectacularly from a 500-750-metre-long (1,640-2,460-foot-long) fissure in the ground in the Fagradalsfjall volcanic system.
Iceland is home to 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe.