Iceland volcano erupts within miles of country's capital
A volcano erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland, near the capital Reykjavik, following intense earthquake activity in the area, the country's Meteorological Office (IMO) said on Monday. (COURTESY: Reuters)
A volcano located just 20 miles away from Iceland’s capital erupted for the third time in three years after remaining dormant for thousands of years – and the entire event was captured on stunning video.
"For the third time in 3 years Earth erupts in Reykjanes," Iceland President Gudni Johannesson wrote on Twitter. "No threat to infrastructure yet, but Civil Defense has closed off a large danger zone for the time being due to volcanic gasses."
"Meanwhile, we monitor the spectacle from a safe distance, in awe of Mother Nature," he added, posting a picture of the fissure.
Officials initially warned that the eruption of Mount Fagradalsfjall, which started on Monday, had started spewing "life-threatening toxic gas," but by Tuesday morning they reported that the eruption had slowed, and the fissure had shrunk.
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Police restricted access to the volcano and encouraged residents on the Reykjanes peninsula, where the volcano stands, to shut their windows and shutdown ventilation.
Smoke billows and lava spurts after the eruption of a volcano, on the Reykjanes peninsula, near the capital Reykjavik, in southwest Iceland, July 10, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. (Juergen Merz - Glacier Photo Artist/via Reuters)
Weeks of earthquake activity preceded the eruption, with as many as 4,700 recorded over 72 hours starting July 4, with 17 of them measuring over magnitude 4 and the biggest hitting magnitude 4.8 on July 5, the Icelandic Meteorological Office reported.
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Air traffic authorities delayed domestic flights due to an immense plume of smoke over the road connecting Reykjavik to Keflavik International Airport – the largest travel hub in the country – the BBC reported.
View from Reykjavik toward the area where a volcano eruption was taking place on the Reykjanes peninsula, in Iceland, July 10, 2023. (Reuters/Sigurdur Davidsson )
Scientists have classified the eruption as a fissure eruption, which does not usually cause a large explosion or any of the more dangerous elements of an eruption, such as kicking up significant amounts of ash into the atmosphere.
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This year’s eruption occurred 11 months after the previous eruption ended, and the Icelandic Meteorological Office had said the eruption was initially more explosive than the previous two from Fagradalsfjall. The volcano had lain dormant for roughly 6,000 years before the recent spate of activity.
Lava flows after the eruption of a volcano, on the Reykjanes peninsula, near the capital Reykjavik, in southwest Iceland, July 10, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. (Juergen Merz - Glacier Photo Artist/via Reuters)
The 2021 eruption produced spectacular lava flows for several months. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to see the sight.
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Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages an eruption every four to five years.
Fox Weather’s Andrew Wulfeck, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.