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After a week-long series of earthquakes, a volcanic eruption occurred late Monday evening on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula. This was announced by the Icelandic Meteorological Office. The eruption started shortly after 10 p.m. (local time) north of the town of Grindavík, the institute warned on its homepage on Tuesday evening.

Films and photos on Platform Police asked spectators not to approach the lava. The city of Grindavik had already been evacuated in November due to fears of an outbreak.

The gorge widened overnight and grew to about four kilometers by early morning, a volcanologist said. According to experts, the crack is many times longer than the eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula in recent years. The lava flow is also much larger, with about 100 to 200 cubic meters of lava flowing out of the crack per second. Civil protection has declared an emergency level.

Volcanologist Ármann Höskuldsson said the crack extends towards Grindavík. Fortunately, no lava flows towards the power plants there. The building is not currently in danger, it was said. Höskuldsson told Icelandic radio station RÚV that he estimated the eruption could last a week to 10 days.

The President recommends following the instructions of the authorities

Geophysicist Benedikt Ofeigsson of the Icelandic Meteorological Agency said the eruption was in the Sundhnjúka crater, according to local media reports. At this point it is difficult to say whether the infrastructure or the city of Grindavík is in danger. Icelandic President Gudni Jóhannesson wrote on Facebook that it was still unclear what damage the eruption could cause. He asked locals to follow all recommendations from emergency services “at this dangerous moment”. Grindavík Mayor Fannar Jónasson said he was somewhat surprised by the timing of the eruption, as the earthquakes had calmed down somewhat in recent days.

However, there was fear of the eruption; Hundreds of earthquakes had occurred in recent weeks. The fishing village of Grindavík was evacuated in November. About 4,000 people were brought to safety. Recently, residents of Grindavík were allowed to enter their homes again during the day. However, they were not allowed to return completely.

The Blue Lagoon tourist attraction, located just a few kilometers from the city, only reopened this weekend after being temporarily closed. It is located only about 40 kilometers southwest of the capital Reykjavik. There were no guests there at the time of the eruption, according to what is probably the most famous tourist attraction on the island.

Recent eruptions hit uninhabited areas

Not only are the lava flows dangerous to people, but the ash also falls, releasing toxins. Under the city on the Reykjanes Peninsula, where volcanic eruptions have occurred three years in a row, a 15-kilometer-long magma tunnel runs from northeast to southwest into the sea. The most recent eruptions, most recently in July, always affected uninhabited areas.

The land of glaciers, volcanoes and geysers lies on the border between the North American and Eurasian plates. This is why seismic activity is common on the island, which has a total population of almost 390,000. Volcanic eruptions with spectacular images always attract spectators and tourists. In total there are more than 30 active volcanoes on the North Atlantic island. (sda/dpa)