A volcano erupted in southwestern Iceland on Wednesday, authorities said, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
Details
Live broadcasts from the scene showed the volcano spewing smoke and stunning flows of incandescent yellow-orange lava. This is the latest in a series of eruptions that have occurred near the capital in recent years.
This island nation in the North Atlantic, often called the "land of ice and fire," with its many glaciers and volcanoes, has experienced about a dozen eruptions since geological systems on the Reykjanes Peninsula resumed activity in 2021.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office reported that magma that broke through the Earth's crust formed a giant fissure 700 to 1000 meters long. The first signs of the eruption have not yet given clear warnings.
"(Currently) it poses no threat to any infrastructure," the agency said in a statement.
"Based on GPS data and deformation signals, it was probably a relatively small eruption," the statement said.
Flights at Keflavik Airport in the capital Reykjavik, as stated on its website, were not affected.
Public broadcaster RUV, citing police, reported the evacuation of people from the Blue Lagoon, a luxurious geothermal spa resort, and the neighboring town of Grindavik.
Grindavik, which had a population of almost 4,000 before the evacuation order in 2023, has since been virtually deserted due to fears of periodic threats from lava flows and associated earthquakes.
The Reykjanes eruptions have so far posed no threat to Reykjavik and have not resulted in the release of large volumes of ash into the stratosphere, so air traffic has not been disrupted.
Experts say that eruptions in this area can recur for decades, or even centuries.