Following weeks of heightened earthquake activity, a volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland. Last month, around 4,000 residents of the fishing town of Grindavik were evacuated. The eruption initiated north of the town at 22:17 local time on Monday, according to the Icelandic Met Office.
A resident near Grindavik described witnessing “crazy” and “scary” scenes that night and observed the volcano exploding on Tuesday. Iceland had been anticipating volcanic activity due to increased earthquake activity around the capital Reykjavik since late October.
Reykjavik, situated roughly 42km (26 miles) northeast of Grindavik, offers a clear view of the eruption. A witness observed that half of the sky facing the town was illuminated in red, accompanied by billowing smoke.
Experts suggest that this eruption is not expected to cause disruptions on the scale of the 2010 eruption that halted European air travel. Aoalheiour Halldorsdottir, residing approximately 20km from Grindavik, described the experience as unprecedented and expressed some initial panic on Monday night. However, she noted that the situation had largely returned to normal on Tuesday.
Iceland’s foreign minister, Bjarni Benediktsson, confirmed that there are no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland, and international flight corridors are unaffected. The Icelandic Met Office is closely monitoring the eruption, situated approximately 4km northeast of Grindavik on the southwest coast. There are concerns about the potential impact of the lava flow on Grindavik.
Images and videos on social media depicted lava bursting from the volcano shortly after an earthquake swarm was detected. Police have cautioned people to avoid the area. The crack in the volcano extends around 3.5km, with the lava streaming at a rate ranging from 100 to 200 cubic meters per second, exceeding the scale of recent eruptions in the Reykjanes peninsula.