Volcano erupts in southwest Iceland

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 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.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/volcano-erupts-southwest-iceland-rcna133850

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