Icelandic volcano eruption sends lava flowing in visual spectacle
The eruption, the sixth on the Reykjanes Peninsula since December, created a glow but did not pose a threat to residents.
Tourists and visitors try to get a view of the eruption from a distance from the intersection between Reykjanesbraut, Iceland, and the road to Grindavik on Thursday. (Marco di Marco/AP)
By
Justine McDaniel
August 23, 2024 at 12:25 p.m. EDT
A volcanic eruption began Thursday in Iceland, sending molten lava gushing from a long fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula and causing evacuations.
It is the volcano system’s sixth eruption since December and the
ninth since 2021, according to the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs, which said the nearby area was evacuated. The eruption has not posed a threat to people in the area and did not disrupt flights, the ministry
said Thursday on X.
Eyjafjallajökull volcano
In some spots, spectators gathered to watch the eruption, which produced molten lava fountains, created a glowing maze of spurts and flows and turned the sky orange and smoky.
The Blue Lagoon, a popular geothermal spa and tourist destination,
closed and evacuated visitors after the eruption began. On TikTok,
user aa.kenney posted a video while evacuating from the spot, calling it “a bit of a terrifying experience.”
“It’s pretty terrifying for that alarm to go off while you’re way in the back of the pool,” she saidIceland volcano erupts for sixth time since December
A new fissure spewed lava on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland on Aug. 23 after a series of earthquakes. (Video: The Washington Post)
A road sign pointing visitors to the Blue Lagoon is illuminated by the glow of the eruption. (Marco di Marco/AP)
The eruption caused a roughly 2.5 mile-long fissure, with lava flowing east and west, the Icelandic Meteorological Office reported. Lava did not threaten the town of Grindavík to the south, which has been affected by previous eruptions.
On Friday morning, the eruption had “decreased somewhat” in vigor, and seismic activity had lessened, the office said, but the eruption did not appear to have reached equilibrium. Most of the activity was around the northern end of that fissure and around a second fissure that had opened to the north of the first.
The eruption came after days of increasing seismic activity and magma accumulation, according to the Icelandic Met Office.
Lava spurts and flows after the volcano's Thursday eruption. (Civil Protection of Iceland/Reuters)
Lava fountains poured out from the new eruptive fissure on Thursday. (Marco di Marco/AP)
The eruption created a visual spectacle, as authorities said it was localized and not a threat to life. (Marco di Marco/AP)
The
volcano system is in a zone that hadn’t been active for centuries. In November, a nine-mile dike formed in the area with fast-flowing magma, creating a channel through which magma can travel to the surface during an eruption. Since then, the system has repeatedly erupted.
The activity has caused evacuations, interrupted a hot-water supply and prompted emergency responses. Visuals of the flowing lava and its orange glow have also attracted international attention.
The last eruption began on May 29 and lasted for 24 days, until late June, releasing a lava field with a volume of about 45 million cubic meters. Eruptions also occurred in December, January, February and March.
New eruption in #Iceland
