After weeks of intense volcanic activity, Iceland’s Reykjanes volcano erupted on Monday.
DW Europe posted video footage of the Monday night eruption.
🎥A volcano has dramatically erupted in Iceland, with bursts of lava lighting up the sky over the Reykjanes peninsula.pic.twitter.com/S5kl3MDapv
— DW Europe (@dw_europe) December 19, 2023
When asked about his response in the clip, tour guide Ael Kermarec stated, “The town involved may end up under lava that’s flowing behind us so it’s kind of mixed feelings.”
The DW Europe video also noted Iceland is located on a volcanic hotspot in the northern Atlantic Ocean and the area experiences an eruption on average of every four to five years.
The New York Post reported on thousands of mini earthquakes occurring throughout the area in November.
The ground broke apart and destroyed sections of roads in the town of Grindavik, leaving smoke pouring up from the cracks.
According to Reuters, 4,000 people were evacuated in preparation for the eruption.
Iceland’s Meteorological Office stated, “Seismic activity together with measurements from GPS devices indicate that the magma is moving to the southwest and the eruption may continue in the direction of Grindavik.”
The crack in the area’s surface was over two miles long when activity began last month and has grown, with 3,530 to 7,060 cubic feet of lava spewing per second.
The public has been warned not to approach the area and local police have raised their alert level.
While Iceland has experienced multiple volcanic eruptions in recent years, the most memorable remains the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökul — which covered Europe in a cloud of smoke and shut down flights for about a month, via the National Center for Atmospheric Science.
Volcanic ash was sent over five miles across the sky, and Iceland declared a state of emergency.
Icelandic Coast Guard nearly zero metering the eruption north of Grindavik, Iceland! I wonder how warm it feels in that chopper pic.twitter.com/iV5v5Hhkwp
— Reed Timmer, PhD (@ReedTimmerUSA) December 19, 2023