A volcanic eruption, preceded by an earthquake, occurred on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwestern Iceland on Thursday. Lava is not flowing toward the nearby town of Grindavik, it said. It is the sixth eruption in the region since December last year.
The volcano erupted on Thursday evening local time, the Icelandic Meteorological Service reported. The explosion was preceded by a magnitude 4 earthquake. As reported late in the evening, the total length of the fissure was about 3.9 kilometers and extended by 1.5 kilometers in about 40 minutes, the weather service reported.
According to the services, lava is not flowing towards the nearby town of Grindavik and aircraft flights are uninterrupted.
Sixth time from December 2023
The previous eruption in the region was recorded in early June, and lasted 24 days. Thursday's eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula is the sixth since December last year. At that time, Grindavik, home to one of Iceland's most important fishing ports and home to almost 4,000 people, was ordered to evacuate. The town has been largely deserted ever since.
Since 2021, there have been nine eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
The volcanic eruptions there are so-called fissure eruptions, which usually do not disrupt air traffic because they do not cause large explosions or significant spread of ash into the stratosphere.
Eruption on the Reykjanes PeninsulaICELAND CIVIL PROTECTION/REUTERS
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