Volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula Erupts for the 7th time in a Year
A volcano in southwestern Iceland that has roared back to life after eight centuries of silence has erupted for the seventh time since December, sending molten lava flowing towards the Blue Lagoon spa, a major tourist attraction.
The eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula started with little warning at 11:14 p.m. (2314 GMT) Wednesday and created a fissure around 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long. According to Iceland's meteorological office, which monitors seismic activity, the activity is estimated to be considerably smaller than the previous eruption in August.
Most of the previous eruptions have subsided within days.
“In the big picture, this is a bit smaller than the last eruption, and the eruption that occurred in May,” Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, a professor of geophysics who flew over the scene with the Civil Protection agency to monitor the event, told national broadcaster RUV.
While the eruption poses no threat to air travel, authorities warned of gas emissions across parts of the peninsula, including the nearby town of Grindavík, which was largely evacuated a year ago when the volcano came to life after lying dormant for 800 years.
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