Volcanic eruption begins in Iceland

Reykjavík, Aug 23: A volcanic eruption has begun in Iceland near the town of Grindavik, and an evacuation of the nearby area has been announced, the RUV broadcaster reported on Friday, citing Grindavik fire chief Einar Sveinn Jonsson.

The volcanic eruption followed a powerful earthquake, the report added.

Jonsson reportedly said that the evacuation of the area is almost complete, but the exact number of people to be evacuated is unknown.

At the same time, Benedikt Ofeigsson, a spokesman for the Icelandic Meteorological Service, said that the fissure is about 1.5 kilometers long and the volcanic lava is moving at high speed.

"Right now it's not likely that Grindavík is in danger, but we can't say anything about that [with certainty] until things start to stabilise," Ofeigsson was quoted as saying by the broadcaster.

High volcanic activity is typical to Iceland because it is situated at the intersection of large tectonic plates. In 2010, the eruption of the large Eyjafjallajokull volcano caused days of air traffic disruptions across the Atlantic and most of Western Europe. In March 2021, another large volcano, Fagradalsfjall, believed to had been dormant for the past 6,000 years, started erupting following a series of over 40,000 small earthquakes.

Located just some 18 miles from the capital city Reykjavik, it erupted again in September 2021, August 2022 and this July.

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