A dormant volcano erupted on Friday on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula on Friday, firing a lava fountain that lit up the night sky about 30 kilometers southwest of the nation’s capital, the Icelandic Meteorological Office. reported Friday. The eruption, estimated to be the first peninsula in almost 800 years, follows weeks of increased seismic activity in the region.
“The eruption is considered small at this stage, and the eruptive fissure is appreciable. 500 m [546 yards] long. The magma zone is the application. 1km2. [0.4 square miles]”, Said the IMO in a tweet. “The lava wells are small.”
Subsequently, the agency posted on Twitter a video with the consequences of the eruption taken from a Coast Guard helicopter, which you can check in all its terrifying glory below.
The eruption took place near Mount Fagradalsfjall and began around 16:45 ET on Friday, throwing lava up to 100 meters (100 meters) into the air, said Bjarki Friis of Iceland’s meteorological office. Reuters. IMO spotted first the webcam eruption installed it near the mountain, which it then confirmed by thermal satellite images. Hours later, the agency said the lava appears to be flowing “slowly southwest and west.” The lava could be seen from the outskirts of the Icelandic capital, Reykjavík.
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While local authorities said they did not believe the eruption posed an immediate threat to nearby cities, they advised the inhabitants close their windows and stay indoors to avoid potential inhalation of volcanic gases from the fissure. Also the Icelandic police urged the people to stay away from the site of the eruption for the time being, as the first responders continue to assess the situation.
More than 40,000 earthquakes have hit the region in the past four weeks, Reuters reports. The peninsula recorded about 400 earthquakes on Thursday morning alone and several low-frequency earthquakes were recorded under Fagradalsfjall earlier Friday, according to the IMO.
Iceland is one of most volcanic nations in the world. Of its approximately 130 volcanoes, about 30 remain active. The The Reykjanes Peninsula remained relatively calm afterwards sputtering on and off in a series of major eruptions between the 10th and 13th centuries, but scientists began to prepare for potential eruptions at the rate of the region earthquakes rose sharply in 2019.