According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), Iceland has recorded a new volcanic eruption since yesterday, with lava flowing towards the town of Grindavík on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which has a population of around 4,000.
“An eruption began at 07:57 GMT. The opening of the fissure is located southeast of Mount Hagafell. The southernmost part of the fissure is approximately 900 meters from the town of Grindavík,” the statement said.
It states that “the opening is south of the lava flow diversion barriers being built north of Grindavík” and that “lava is now flowing towards the city”.
Less than two hours before the eruption, the IMO had reported the start of an “intense series of earthquakes” in the Sundhnúksgígar crater series at around 0300 GMT.
As of 06:15 GMT, the time the statement was published, more than 200 earthquakes had been recorded in the region, the largest of which was a magnitude 3.5 in Hagafell at 04:07.
The IMO also reported that seismicity had spread to the city of Grindavík and warned of a possible imminent eruption.
