After earthquake - Volcanic eruption in Iceland
A volcano erupted on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland late on Monday evening. This was announced by the Icelandic Meteorological Office. The eruption north of the town of Grindavík had begun, the institute warned on its website on Tuesday night. The town had been evacuated in November due to fears of an eruption. The eruption was preceded by a week-long series of earthquakes. Films and photos on Platform X showed orange-red glowing lava fountains shooting into the dark night sky and lighting it up brightly. According to the media, the police asked onlookers not to approach the volcano.
According to local media reports, geophysicist Benedikt Ofeigsson from the Norwegian Meteorological Agency said that the eruption had been localized at the Sundhnjúka crater. It is currently difficult to say whether infrastructure or the town of Grindavík are in danger. Iceland's President Gudni Jóhannesson wrote on Facebook that it was still unclear what damage the eruption could cause. He asked local people to follow all the recommendations of the emergency services "at this dangerous moment".
The eruption had been feared - dozens of earthquakes have occurred in recent weeks. The fishing village of Grindavík was evacuated in November as a result. Around 4000 people were evacuated to safety. The Blue Lagoon, a tourist attraction just a few kilometers from the village, only reopened at the weekend following a temporary closure. It is located only around 40 kilometers southwest of the capital Reykjavik. According to reports, there were no guests there at the time of the eruption.
According to Icelandic broadcaster RÚV, residents of Grindavík were recently allowed to re-enter their homes during the day. However, they were not allowed to return completely.
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Source: www.stern.de
