A volcano in southwest Iceland has erupted for the sixth time since December, spewing lava through a new fissure on the Reykjanes peninsula.
Live video images showed orange lava erupting from a long fissure and glowing plumes of smoke rising into the night sky.
“A volcanic eruption has begun. A fissure has opened east of Sylingarfell,” the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said in a statement, adding that the eruption began at 9:26 p.m. local time following a series of earthquakes.
The IMO initially estimated the length of the crack at 1.4 kilometers (0.86 miles), adding in a later statement that it had expanded to 3.9 kilometers within 40 minutes.
More than an hour after the eruption began, there was still “considerable seismic activity” at the northern end of the fissure.
According to IMO, an earthquake measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale was recorded at 22:37.
Iceland’s national airport and air traffic control provider Isavia said air traffic to and from Iceland was operating normally despite the ongoing outbreak.
The latest eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, home to 30,000 people or nearly 8% of the country’s total population, ended on June 22 after 24 days of spewing fountains of molten rock.
The eruptions highlight the challenge facing the island nation of nearly 400,000 people, while scientists warn that the Reykjanes peninsula could experience repeated events for decades or even centuries.
Since 2021, there have been nine eruptions on the peninsula, resulting in the reactivation of geological systems that have been dormant for 800 years.
In response, authorities erected barriers to divert lava flows away from critical infrastructure, including the Svartsengi power plant, the Blue Lagoon open-air spa and the fishing village of Grindavik.
Sudurnes region police chief Ulfar Ludviksson told Icelandic media that the evacuation of Grindavik was going well, adding that 22 or 23 houses in the village were occupied.
Most of Grindavik’s 4,000 residents were evacuated in November ahead of an eruption in December. Although residents have since been allowed to return between eruptions, few have chosen to stay overnight.
Speaking to Icelandic public broadcaster RUV, Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, professor of geophysics at the University of Iceland, said that unlike previous eruptions, there had been little activity at the southern end of the fissure – towards Grindavik.
“So if this continues as expected, there will be no more lava near Grindavik. I think we have to see this as good news,” Gudmundsson told the broadcaster.
The professor cautioned that “the night is still young and we need to continue to monitor the situation,” but added that overall the situation is “more favorable than last time.”
The IMO had warned for weeks of another eruption and said on Monday that seismic activity indicated an increase in pressure in the accumulation of magma beneath Svartsengi, where a power plant is located that supplies electricity and water to about 30,000 people on the peninsula.
The Svartsengi power plant has been evacuated and has been operating largely remotely since the region’s first eruption in December.
Iceland has 33 active volcanic systems, the highest number in Europe.
It extends across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the sea floor that separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
