Reykjavik, Iceland:
Lava spewed from a new volcanic fissure on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula on Saturday, the fourth eruption to hit the area since December, authorities said.
A “volcanic eruption has started between Stora Skogfell and Hagafell on the Reykjanes Peninsula,” according to a statement from the Icelandic Met Office (IMO). Live video footage showed glowing lava and billowing smoke.
The Icelandic Ministry of Civil Protection and Emergency Management announced that it has sent a helicopter to determine the exact location of the new gorge.
Minutes before the eruption, the IMO had issued a statement saying that seismic activity indicated there was an increased risk of an eruption.
Local media reported that the evacuation of the fishing village of Grindavik had begun after residents received text messages telling them to leave quickly.
Grindavik's approximately 4,000 residents were not allowed to return to their homes until February 19 after being evacuated on November 11, although only a few people chose to do so.
On that occasion, hundreds of tremors damaged buildings and opened huge cracks in the roads.
The earthquakes were followed on December 18 by a volcanic fissure that spared the village.
But in January a fissure opened on the outskirts of the town, sending lava flowing into the streets and destroying three houses, followed by a third eruption near the village on February 8.
Iceland is home to 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe.
It lies on either side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor that separates the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
But until March 2021, the Reykjanes Peninsula had not experienced an eruption in eight centuries.
Further eruptions occurred in August 2022 and in July and December 2023, leading volcanologists to say this was likely the start of a new era of seismic activity in the region.
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