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A dormant volcano in southwest Iceland has come back to life, following thousands of small earthquakes in recent weeks.
The volcano is located on the Reykjanes Peninsula and the eruption is the first in that part of the country in nearly 800 years.
Lava has spilled down two sides of the volcano and its glow can be seen from outside Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, which is about 20 miles away.
The eruption lit up the night sky. Image: Hildur Hlín Jónsdóttir / AP
Over the past four weeks, the area has had more than 40,000 earthquakes, many more than the 1,000 to 3,000 recorded each year since 2014.
The Fagradals Mountain volcano had been dormant for 6,000 years, and the Reykjanes Peninsula had not seen a volcano erupt in 781 years.
The Civil Protection Department of the National Police Commission said the volcanic gas pollution is expected to spread to Thorlakshofn, a city on Iceland’s south coast, and continue into the evening.
He said residents should close windows and stay inside their homes.
Rannveig Gudmundsdottir, who lives in the town of Grindavik, five miles from the eruption, said: “I can see the bright red sky from my window.
“Everyone here is getting in their cars to drive there.”
Sara Barsotti, volcanic hazards coordinator at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said the eruption does not pose an immediate danger to people in the area or critical infrastructure, adding: “I think we can’t expect anything better than that.
IMO has sent a helicopter with scientists to observe the eruption.
The country’s airport operator Isavia said airlines should decide how to proceed based on the ash cloud forecast.
Reykjavik’s Keflavik International Airport remained open.
Unlike the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which disrupted approximately 900,000 flights and forced hundreds of Icelanders from their homes, this eruption is not expected to spew much ash or smoke into the atmosphere, the IMO said.
