by The Icelandic city of Grindavík and the nearby Blue Lagoon Attraction were evacuated after the area was hit by another volcanic eruption.
The outbreak has been the 11th since 2021, when the Reykjanes Peninsula, a region southwest of Reykjavík, began its new eruption period.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said that a “swarm of earthquakes” started in the Sundhnúkur crater series at around 6.30 a.m. in a similar point of outbursts before it broke out at 9.45 a.m. local time north of the protective barrier near Grindavík.
The orange-red fissure, which spread lava and smoke, quickly spread to the south and until 10 a.m., which she had already reached through the defense walls north of Grindavík. Warning sirens went through the city. At 10.30 a.m. local time, it was estimated at 700 meters long.
Dramatic video material showed how Magma was built on the defense barrier on the Grindavík page. “The fissure continues to grow and it cannot be ruled out that it can open further south,” said the IMO.
The fishing town, about an hour’s drive from the capital, has been largely uninhabited since November 10, 2023 when an outbreak led to the city opened with divisions of 20 meters. Although some of the 3,800 inhabitants of the city and some of its business had returned, most of them divided into other parts of the country after the state bought most of its buildings because they were uninhabitable.
The regional police said they had completed Grindavík’s evacuation, with the exception of a small number of residents who refused. The Blue Lagoon, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Iceland, said that he had successfully evacuated the thermal spa.
Ch Suppt Runólfur Þórhallsson, Iceland’s civil protection director, asked those who had decided not to leave the city to evacuate.
The blue lagoon said it was temporarily closed due to the volcanic eruption and would provide further information as soon as it became available.
The IMO used to say that the signals they had picked up were stronger than the recently in Sundhnúkur Crater Row, which points out that “a considerable amount of magma is currently in motion”.
It added: “Rescue workers in Grindavík have reported that earthquakes can be felt in the city, and there are also signs of deformation, which indicates that rejection could occur in the city itself.”
The Icelandic tourist board said that there is “no threat to the population” and the flights are as usual at Keflavík Airport.
Snorri Valsson, a spokesman for the tourist board, said: “The area has been completed and is closed up to further. Depending on the wind direction, gas pollution may form and is closely monitored.”
Valsson added: “The eruption is still developing and we will publish more information when collecting.”
Although after the outbreak in November 2023, which the Tourism Board is partly responsible for international reporting, the figures have increased slightly, the numbers have increased slightly since then.
The number of foreigners who came through Keflavík Airport rose by 2% in 2023-24 to 2,261,391 compared to the same period in the previous year, said Statistics Island. The 383,963 hotel stays recorded in November 2024 were also compared to the number in November 2023.
