A volcano in southwest Iceland erupted on Sunday, the country’s meteorological office said, making it the fifth eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula since 2021.
A coast guard helicopter has been sent to assess the situation and the exact location, the Civil Protection agency said.
“An eruption has begun. The first estimate of the location is south-southeast of Hagafell,” said Iceland’s Meteorological Office, adding that images from the coast guard surveillance flights showed that cracks had emerged in the landscape on both sides of volcano defenses that were under construction north of Grindavík.
Footage and images released by RUV, Iceland’s public broadcaster, showed that lava flows had begun to penetrate roads in the evacuated southern fishing town of Grindavík by Sunday afternoon.
“No lives are in danger,” said Iceland’s President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson in a post on X, though he added that “infrastructure may be under threat.”
The nearby geothermal spa Blue Lagoon, popular with tourists, was closed on Sunday, it said on its website.
More than 100 residents were in the town at the time of evacuation orders on Saturday night, according to local authorities, after having returned following previous orders issued for an eruption in December.
The last eruption on the peninsula started in the Svartsengi volcanic system on Dec. 18 following the complete evacuation of Grindavík’s 4,000 inhabitants and the closing of the Blue Lagoon.
Grindavík was ultimately spared as the lava flowed away from the town.
Iceland, which is roughly the size of the U.S. state of Kentucky, has more than 30 active volcanoes, making the northern European island a destination for volcano tourism — a niche segment that attracts thousands of thrill-seekers.
In 2010, ash clouds from eruptions at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in the south of Iceland spread over large parts of Europe, grounding some 100,000 flights and forcing hundreds of Icelanders to evacuate their homes.
Unlike Eyjafjallajokull, the Reykjanes volcano systems are not trapped under glaciers and are not expected to produce similar ash clouds.
This is a developing story. Please check back for details.
