In Grindavik, Iceland, a volcano burst into activity for the fourth time in just three months on Saturday night. This event painted the sky with stunning orange streams of lava.
The eruption created a crack in the ground stretching about 3 kilometers (nearly 2 miles) between the Stóra-Skógfell and Hagafell mountains on the Reykjanes Peninsula, as reported by Iceland’s Meteorological Office.
For weeks, the Met Office had been signaling that an eruption was on the horizon due to the accumulation of magma beneath the surface.
The onset of the eruption prompted the evacuation of hundreds from the Blue Lagoon thermal spa, a beloved destination for visitors to Iceland, as per the national broadcaster RUV.
Despite the dramatic events, flights at Keflavik, Iceland’s primary airport, remained unaffected.
Situated a short distance northeast of Grindavik, the eruption site is near this coastal town of 3,800 residents, located roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. The town had previously been evacuated in December before the first eruption. On Saturday, a few inhabitants who had ventured back were once again asked to leave.
The awakening of the Svartsengi volcanic system in November, after nearly 800 years of dormancy, marked by a series of earthquakes and significant ground fissures north of Grindavik, led to the town’s evacuation.
The volcano first erupted on December 18, with the lava flow initially directed away from Grindavik. A subsequent eruption on January 14 saw lava advancing towards the town. Although reinforced barriers managed to halt some of the lava, several structures were lost to the flow.
These eruptions were brief, lasting just a few days. However, a third eruption on February 8 quickly subsided, but not before lava flows severed a pipeline, disrupting the supply of heat and hot water to many.
According to RUV, geophysicist Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson described this latest eruption as the most intense yet, with some lava streams threatening the protective barriers around Grindavik.
Iceland is no stranger to volcanic activity, situated atop a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic. The country is well-versed in managing such natural events. The most notable disruption in recent history was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which emitted vast ash clouds, causing extensive airspace closures across Europe.
While the recent volcanic activities have not resulted in any confirmed fatalities, there was a report of a worker missing after falling into a newly formed fissure.