This is the incredible moment a volcano erupted in Iceland, spewing a huge fountain of lava into the sky from a two-mile-long gorge.
The eruption started around 6 a.m. and sent lava into the air along a 3-kilometer-long rift northeast of Mount Sundhnukur, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.
The latest dramatic activity comes less than two months after an earlier eruption in the area forced the evacuation of the coastal town of Grindavik.
Coast Guard surveillance showed the eruption occurred in the same area as the December 18 eruption 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 to a major power station 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 started around 6 a.m. and sent lava into the air along a 3-kilometer-long rift northeast of Mount Sundhnukur, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.
‘At 5.30am this morning, intense minor earthquake activity commenced to the north-east of Sylingarfell. About 30 minutes later an eruption started in the same area,” the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said in a statement.
IMO added that, based on an initial assessment of a coast guard flyover, the gap was about three kilometers long.
Iceland’s 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 broadcaster 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 disruption was reported at the airport on Thursday.
Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic Ocean, experiences an eruption every four to five years on average, although the Reykjanes Peninsula had not experienced an eruption in eight centuries until March 2021.
New eruptions occurred in August 2022 and July and December 2023, leading volcanologists to say this was likely the start of a new era of activity in the region.
The country lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor that separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
IMO added that based on an initial assessment of a coastguard flyover, the gorge (seen this morning) was approximately three kilometers 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 hotspot in the North Atlantic Ocean, experiences an eruption every four to five years on average, although the Reykjanes Peninsula had not experienced an eruption in eight centuries until March 2021
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, February 8
The most disruptive event in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.
Grindavik, a town of 3,800 people about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, was evacuated in November when the Svartsengi volcanic system woke up after nearly 800 years with a series of earthquakes that opened large cracks in the earth between the town and Sýlingarfell, a small mountain in the north.
The volcano finally erupted on December 18, releasing lava from Grindavik. A second eruption that began on January 14 sent lava towards the city.
Defensive walls that had been reinforced since the first eruption held back some of the flow, but they could not save some of the city’s buildings.
During the second eruption, two cracks formed, with the second appearing right on the edge of the city, causing orange lava to flow into the streets and destroying three houses.
Due to the volcanic eruptions, the future of Grindavik has been shrouded in uncertainty in recent months, with residents still unable to return home.
“Lava is currently flowing mainly westward and the flow appears to be slightly less than at the beginning of the December 18 eruption,” 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 are seen after a volcanic eruption on the outskirts of the town of Grindavik, Iceland, January 17
Construction workers build earthworks to divert lava flow after a volcanic eruption on the outskirts of the town of Grindavik, Iceland, 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
Fountains of lava reached heights of about 50 to 80 meters and the volcanic plume rose about three kilometers above the gorge, IMO said.
Seismologist Kristin Jonsdottir said the location of the new eruption was “fortunate” as it was north of Grindavik and away from infrastructure, RUV reported.
On Monday, the IMO said magma accumulation continued beneath the area.
“Similar processes were observed before the previous dike breaches and eruptions north of Grindavik in January 2024 and December 2023,” the agency said, noting that “new magmatic dike intrusion and resulting volcanic eruption are more likely in the coming days . to soften.’