Iceland volcano finally erupts weeks after thousands were evacuated from town
A pollution warning has been issued for Iceland's capital Reykjavik as a volcano continues to spew lava towards nearby towns. ITV News Correspondent Caroline Lewis reports
A volcanic eruption anticipated for months has officially began in Iceland, turning the sky orange and prompting the country’s civil defense to be on high alert.
The eruption appears to have occurred about four kilometers (2.4 miles) from the town of Grindavik, on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.
First there was a series of small earthquakes.
Then lava that's some 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,192 degrees Fahrenheit) began pouring out of a fissure about 2.5 miles long.
Grainy webcam video showed the moment of the eruption as a flash of light illuminating the sky at 10.17pm local time.
As the eruption spread, magma, or semi-molten rock, could be seen spewing along the ridge of a hill.
Video provided by the Icelandic Coast Guard shows magma flow on a hill near Grindavik
“The magma flow seems to be at least a hundred cubic meters per second, maybe more. So this would be considered a big eruption in this area at least,” Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland’s Civil Protection and Emergency Management told the Icelandic public broadcaster, RUV.
Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir told RUV the lava was not impacting critical infrastructure near the volcano but precautions were being taken near the Svartsengi power plant.
“The town involved might end up under the lava,” said Ael Kermarec, a French tour guide living in Iceland. “It’s amazing to see but, there’s kind of a bittersweet feeling at the moment.”
In November, police evacuated the town or Grindavik after strong seismic activity in the area damaged homes and raised fears of an imminent eruption.
Iceland sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic and averages an eruption every four to five years.
The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and grounded flights across Europe for days because of fears ash could damage airplane engines.
Scientists say a new eruption would likely produce lava but not an ash cloud.
Iceland’s foreign minister, Bjarne Benediktsson said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that there are “no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open.”
A coast guard helicopter will attempt to confirm the exact location - and size - of the eruption, and will also measure gas emissions.
Grindavik, a fishing town of 3,400, sits about 50 kilometres (31 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik and not far from Keflavik Airport, Iceland’s main facility for international flights.
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