REYKJAVIK, Iceland: Police in Iceland late Saturday declared a state of emergency as they saw lava erupting from a new volcanic fissure on the Reykjavík peninsula, the fourth such eruption since end 2023.
A “volcanic eruption has started between stora Skogfell and Hagafell on the Reykjanes Peninsula,” said Icelandic Met Office (IMO) statement. Live video images showed glowing lava and billowing smoke.
Iceland’s Ministry of Civil Protection and Emergency Management said it had dispatched a helicopter to pinpoint the exact location of the new breach. Officials also announced that the police had declared a state of emergency due to the eruption.
According to the IMO report, this eruption occurred on February 8 near the same location as the previous one. The lava appears to have flowed south towards the embankment that was built to protect the fishing village of Grindavik.
Lava was flowing westward on February 8, and the fissure was estimated to be 2.9 kilometers (1.8 miles) long, the IMO said.
On Friday, the IMO said magma was accumulating underground in the area and could end with the intrusion of new magma and possibly an eruption. It is said that this may happen “with very little warning”.
Local media reported that Iceland’s famous Blue Lagoon geothermal spa and Grindavik were also evacuated.
Approximately 4,000 residents of Grindavik were evacuated on November 11 and cleared to return to their homes on February 19, but only about 100 chose to do so.
Hundreds of earthquakes caused damage to buildings and large cracks in roads.
After the earthquake, a volcanic fissure appeared on December 18 and the village was spared.
However, in January a fissure opened on the edge of the town, sending lava onto the road and reducing three houses to ash, followed by a third eruption near the village on 8 February.
As of Friday, more than 300 Grindavik residents had applied to sell their homes to the state.
Iceland has 33 active volcanic systems, the most in Europe.
