Iceland has 33 active volcano systems, ranking first in Europe (representative)
Reykjavik, Iceland:
Lava spewed from a new volcanic fissure on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula on Saturday, authorities said, marking the area’s fourth eruption since December.
A statement from the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said “an eruption has begun at the volcano between Stolaskogfell and Haggafell on the Reykjanes Peninsula”. Video images from the scene showed glowing lava and billowing smoke.
Iceland’s Ministry of Civil Protection and Emergency Management announced it had sent a helicopter to close the exact location of the new crack.
Minutes before the eruption, the International Maritime Organization issued a statement saying seismic activity indicated an increased likelihood of an eruption.
Local media reported that the evacuation of the fishing town of Grindavik had begun and residents received text messages asking them to leave as soon as possible.
About 4,000 residents of Grindavik were not allowed to return to their homes until February 19 after being evacuated on November 11, but only about 4,000 residents chose to do so.
That time, hundreds of earthquakes damaged buildings and caused huge cracks in roads.
On December 18, the village was spared from the volcanic eruption following the earthquake.
But a third eruption occurred near the village on February 8 after a fissure opened at the edge of the town in January and lava flowed into the streets, reducing three houses to ashes.
Iceland has 33 active volcanic systems, the largest number in Europe.
It straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the undersea rift that separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
But until March 2021, the Reykjanes Peninsula had not experienced a volcanic eruption in eight centuries.
Further eruptions occurred in August 2022 and July and December 2023, which volcanologists say could be the start of a new era of seismic activity in the region.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
