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(last update at 1:11 am on March 20)
The Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland erupted this Friday around 10 pm local time, at 8 pm in Lisbon, according to the National Meteorological Institute. The volcano is located on the Reykjanes peninsula, in the south of the country, very close to the capital Reykjavik (about 30 kilometers away) and the Keflavik International Airport.
As a preventive measure, all air traffic at that airport was temporarily interrupted (and replaced a few hours later) and the authorities asked the population to stay at home, avoiding approaching the eruption zone that occurs in an uninhabited area. Nevertheless, many inhabitants began to go to the place, which led the police to close some roads.
The volcanic eruption in Fagradalsfjall has started. The flight color code is red, but very little turbulence is seen on the seismometers.
– Icelandic Meteorological Office – IMO (@Vedurstofan) March 19, 2021
In recent weeks thousands of earthquakes have been felt in the region and the eruption of the volcano was expected. In the last week of February alone, there were more than 17,000 earthquakes in Iceland. The aviation color code has been increased to red, although, for now, there is little seismic activity, which means that there is a high degree of certainty of an ash-emitting eruption.
Until now, there is no news of casualties or material damage and it is expected that it will continue to be so, since the eruption occurs in an uninhabited area. Shortly after the natural phenomenon began, images of the eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano, which is part of the Krýsuvík volcanic system, took over social media.
The Icelandic Meteorological Institute has also published the first official image of the eruption on Twitter: “The first image of the eruption, taken from the Coast Guard helicopter. The southern tip of the tongue is about 2.6 km from Suðurstrandarvegur. According to initial information, the crack is about 200 m long ”. Hours later this first information was corrected, when the fissure was already between 500 and 700 meters and the the eruptions reached about 100 meters in height.
The first image of the eruption. Taken from the Coast Guard helicopter. The southern tip of the tongue is about 2.6 km from Suðurstrandarvegur. According to initial information, the fissure is about 200 m long. pic.twitter.com/MeRCLCtcrv
– Icelandic Meteorological Office – IMO (@Vedurstofan) March 19, 2021
After the eruption was confirmed through webcams and satellite images, a team of technicians went to the site by helicopter to collect more information. The immediate result was the release of the first official video.
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