2023-12-19 01:10:35
A volcano erupted on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland late Monday evening. This was announced by the Icelandic Meteorological Office. The eruption north of the town of Grindavík had begun, the institute warned on its homepage on Tuesday night. The site was evacuated in November amid fears of an outbreak. The eruption was preceded by a week-long series of earthquakes.
Films and photos on Platform X showed orange-red glowing lava fountains shooting into the dark night sky and illuminating it brightly. According to media, the police asked onlookers not to approach the volcano.
Geophysicist Benedikt Ofeigsson from the Norwegian Meteorological Agency said the eruption was located at the Sundhnjúka crater, according to local media reports. At the moment it is difficult to say whether infrastructure or the town of Grindavík is in danger. Iceland’s President Gudni Jóhannesson wrote on Facebook that it was still unclear what damage the eruption might cause. He asked local people to follow all recommendations from emergency services “at this dangerous moment”.
The eruption had been feared – dozens of earthquakes had occurred in the past few weeks. The fishing village of Grindavík was evacuated in November because of this. Around 4,000 people were brought to safety. The Blue Lagoon tourist attraction, located just a few kilometers from town, was only reopened at the weekend following a temporary closure. It is only around 40 kilometers southwest of the capital Reykjavik. According to reports, there were no guests there at the time of the eruption.
Most recently, residents of Grindavík were allowed to enter their homes once more during the day, according to Icelandic broadcaster RÚV. However, they were not allowed to return completely.
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