REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) – A long-dormant volcano on the southwestern Reykjanes Peninsula came to life on Friday night, spilling lava on two sides in the first volcanic eruption in the area in nearly 800 years.
The initial aerial images, posted on the Facebook page of the Icelandic Meteorological Office, have so far shown a relatively small eruption, with two lava flows flowing in opposite directions. The lava glow could be seen from the outskirts of the Icelandic capital, Reykjavík, which is about 32 kilometers away.
The Emergency Management Department said it does not anticipate evacuations because the volcano is in a remote valley, about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the nearest road.
The Fagradals volcano had been dormant for 6,000 years, and the Reykjanes Peninsula had not seen an eruption of a volcano in 781 years.
Recently there have been signs of a possible eruption, earthquakes that have occurred daily in the last three weeks. But volcanologists were still taken by surprise because the seismic activity calmed down before the eruption.