A volcano in Grindavík, Iceland – located in the southwestern region of the country – erupted on Wednesday.
Video from the volcano showed lava being spewed into the air. According to the Icelandic Meteorological Officethe volcano spewed lava about 50 meters (about 165 feet) high and came from a fissure about 1 kilometer long (about 1,100 yards).
The eruption occurred in the early afternoon, worsening several earthquakes that had occurred north of Grindavík. The Icelandic Meteorological Service website showed there were more than 20 earthquakes in the region over a two-hour period.
Icelandic volcanist Ármann Höskuldsson explained that with the number of earthquakes, it was only a matter of time before eruptions occurred.
“Something has started to shake and this will obviously end in an eruption,” he told Visir. “If this continues, an eruption near Sundhnúkar is very likely.”
Sundhnúkar is a volcanic hill on the same peninsula as Grindavík. The Reykjanes peninsula faced multiple volcanic eruptions since 2021, when dormant volcanoes became active again. On Wednesday, Grindavík, which has a population of 3,800 people, was evacuated, as was the famous Blue Lagoon spa.
Iceland has experienced several problems with volcanic eruptions in recent times. In 2010, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano – part of a volcanic system in the east of the country – erupted and sent clouds of ash into the air that forced air closures across Europe.
The Svartsengi volcanic system – home to Sundhnúkar – was dormant for almost 800 years before awakening a few years ago.
