Volcano erupts in Iceland after thousands evacuated from town

A volcano has erupted in Iceland after weeks of intense earthquake activity.

An evacuation had already taken place in recent days, moving nearly 4,000 people out of the fishing town of Grindavik in the country’s southwest, as fears grew of an eruption from the Reykjanes peninsula.

There have been several eruptions in unpopulated areas in the peninsula in recent years, but the current outbreak was believed to pose an immediate risk to the town, authorities have said.

Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland’s civil protection and emergency management, told the Icelandic public broadcaster RUV: “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.”

The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa has also been closed as a precaution.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office said on its website on Monday: “Warning: Eruption has started north of Grindavik by Hagafell.”

Images and livestreams by RUV show lava spewing from fissures in the ground.

A coastguard helicopter will map the area to confirm the exact location and size of the eruption, the Iceland Meteorological Office said.

The international airport in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, which is located nearby, remained open.

British holidaymaker Helen Hope was on a plane waiting for her flight back to Manchester to take off.

She told Sky News: “Most people were intrigued by it. People possibly started worrying more as we were delayed longer. Some passengers noticed it and then people were scrambling to have a look.

“The pilot has been waiting for the ok from various people in charge of safety to check which way the wind and any ash is blowing.”

Iceland was put on high alert for a volcano eruption in November when a state of emergency was declared.

The Reykjanes peninsula, a volcanic and seismic hot-spot around 30 miles southwest of Reykjavik, had been shaken by hundreds of small earthquakes every day for more than two weeks.

Read more:
UK joins global force to combat Red Sea attacks
Flooding and storms as extreme weather hits countries around the world

In November, Icelandic authorities were working on a plan to protect the evacuated town of Grindavik from a volcanic eruption.

Scientists believed the most likely site for magma to break through the surface was a short distance from the town, and it could flow towards houses.

But Almannavarnir, the Icelandic civil defence, said earth walls would be built to divert a river of molten lava away from the town.