A volcanic eruption began this morning in southwest Iceland, on the Reykjanes Peninsula, the third in that area in the last two months, reported the Meteorological Office of this Nordic country (IMO).
Icelandic authorities recorded a small earthquake northeast of Sýlingarfell at 5:30 GMT and, half an hour later, the eruption occurred. The fissure, near the one that formed in mid-December, extends in both north and south directions, according to the IMO. The crack is approximately 3 kilometers long and the lava flows mainly to the west.
Preliminary information suggests that there is no immediate threat to the nearby town of Grindavík, with about 4,000 inhabitants, RÚV public television reported. The seismic activity recorded on the Reykjanes Peninsula led the authorities to declare an emergency situation at the end of November and announce an imminent eruption, which caused Grindavík to be evacuated.
The explosion finally occurred on December 19, but subsided four days later, and authorities allowed the return at the end of that month of residents whose homes had not been damaged by the earthquakes. The last eruption in the area, which caused a new evacuation, began on January 14 and lasted for two days.
Iceland is a volcanic island located in the North Atlantic that has a population of about 370,000 inhabitants and an area of more than 100,000 square kilometers.
