The eruption has begun on the Reykjanes peninsula after seismic activity shook the area for weeks
A volcano under southwestern Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula has begun erupting following weeks of earthquake activity that destroyed homes, broke apart roads and prompted evacuations of a nearby fishing village.
The eruption started after 10pm local time on Monday and was located around three kilometers (two miles) north of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said in a statement. An earthquake swarm began shaking the area about an hour before the volcano erupted.
A Coast Guard helicopter was being dispatched to confirm the eruption’s exact location and size when the IMO statement was issued. The approximately 4,000 residents of Grindavik were forced to flee their homes last month, as Icelandic authorities warned that magma was getting closer to the Earth’s surface and could burst through.
Video from helicopter above fissure just broadcast in live news programme #Iceland #volcano pic.twitter.com/3SrH2mN3JK
— Duncan (@shaksper) December 18, 2023
When ur on the last already delayed flight back from Iceland and the volcano erupts xox pic.twitter.com/rjEZwHtHe5
— Maymah💜 (@moomie__) December 18, 2023