Iceland’s volcano erupts again for the seventh time since December

GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) – A volcano in southwestern Iceland roaring back to life after eight centuries of silence has erupted for the seventh time since December, sending molten lava pouring toward the Blue Lagoon spa, a major tourist attraction.

The eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula started with little warning at 23:14 (2314 GMT) on Wednesday and created a fissure about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long. The activity is estimated to be significantly less than the previous eruption in August, according to Iceland’s Meteorological Office, which monitors seismic activity.

Most of the previous outbreaks have subsided within a few days.

“In the big picture, this is a bit smaller than the last eruption and the eruption that happened 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.

Although the eruption poses no threat to air traffic, 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 being dormant for 800 years .

About 50 houses were evacuated after the Civil Protection Agency issued the alert, along with guests at Blue Lagoon By Thursday afternoon, lava had spread across the parking lot of the geothermal spa, one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions, and was consuming a service building.

Lava also reached the pipeline that supplies the peninsula with hot water for heating, the meteorological office said, although the pipes were built to withstand the lava flow.

The repeated volcanic eruptions near Grindavík50 kilometers southwest of the capital Reykjavik and had a pre-eruption population of 3,800, has damaged infrastructure and property, forcing many residents to relocate to guarantee their safety.

“Grindavík is not in danger as it seems, and it is unlikely that this crack will last longer, although nothing can be ruled out,” said Magnús Tumi.

Iceland, which lies above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlanticon average, an eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted transatlantic air travel for months.

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Keyton reported from Berlin.