Iceland: Volcano erupts near Reykjavik

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The fissure, located nearly 40 kilometers from Reykjavik, was showing jets of lava that turned into smoking rock as the material cooled.

A volcanic eruption began Wednesday near Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, at a fissure spewing lava near the site of Mount Fagrandalsfial, where a volcano had already erupted in 2021.

The fissure, located nearly 40 kilometers from Reykjavik, was showing jets of lava that turned into smoking rock as the material cooled.

The Icelandic Meteorological Institute, which monitors seismic activity, estimated the length of the crack at about 300 meters.

The institute said the eruption began in the Merandalir Valley, less than a kilometer from the site of the 2021 eruption.

Some onlookers went to the site of the eruption, marveling at the sight of the boiling lava and the roaring sound as the magma erupts, an AFP reporter said.

Despite the absence of an ash cloud, the institute considered it “probable that pollution can be detected due to gas fumes”.

Gases from volcanic eruptions, mainly sulfur dioxide, can be released over long distances and pose a health hazard and can be fatal.

This type of pollution can also be carried by the wind.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Meteorological Institute announced that the possibility of another eruption near Mount Fagrandalsfial “in the coming days or weeks” was considered “strong”.

Since Saturday, nearly 10,000 tremors have been recorded, two of which had magnitudes exceeding 5 degrees.

Contacted by AFP, Iceland’s National Airports Authority said no flights were currently affected by the volcano, adding that it was monitoring the situation.

The risk to residential areas and key infrastructure is considered very low and there has been no disruption to flights, the foreign ministry said in a tweet.

More than an hour after the explosion began, a commercial flight was seen flying low over the blast site, heading to Keflavik, Reykjavik’s main airport.

Last year in Iceland a volcano erupted in an area relatively easy to access, and the event became a real tourist attraction.

The eruption, which released more than 140 million cubic meters of magma over six months, attracted more than 430,000 visitors, according to the Icelandic Tourism Board. The eruption was officially declared over nine months later, in December 2021.

On Wednesday, emergency services and police, who went to the scene to assess the level of danger and possible contamination from the gases, urged residents to stay away from the area.

Icelandic President Gudni Johannesson also called for vigilance. “I just want people to be careful and know more before they step into the unknown. If this eruption is like the last one, there will be plenty of time, so there is no need to rush,” he told the English-language Iceland Monitor.

Mount Fagrandalsfjall belongs to the Krisuvik volcanic system, located on the Reykjavík peninsula in southern Iceland.

RES-EMP

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