A VOLCANO IN southwestern Iceland erupted yesterday evening for the sixth time since December, spewing red lava through a new fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
Last December saw the nearby town of Grindavik largely evacuated when the volcano came to life after being dormant for 800 years.
Yesterday’s eruption began shortly after 9pm following a series of strong earthquakes and within the hour a 2.4-mile fissure cut through the Sundhnukur crater.
Iceland authorities say the eruption’s effects remain localised with road closures but do not threaten the population.
The volcano is a few kilometers northeast of Grindavik, a coastal town of 3,800 people about 50 kilometers southwest of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik.
Halldor Bjornsson, head of weather and climate at the Norwegian Meteorological Agency, told the Icelandic news portal Visir that unlike previous eruptions the lava flow is not heading for Grindavik.
Geophysicist Magnus Tuma Gudmundsson, who flew over the eruption centres, told the website that “if this continues like this, Grindavik is not in danger because of this.
“Of course, we don’t know what will happen in the near future, but it is likely that this has reached its peak and then it will start to subside like the other eruptions.”
The eruption is not expected to impact air travel.
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