The blast occurred on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 30 kilometers southwest of the metropolis, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.
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The area is the focus of volcanic and seismic activity. Icelanders have been disturbed by up to 40,000 earthquakes in the last four weeks, some of which have reached a magnitude of 5.7 degrees. Since 2014, about 1-3 thousand earthquakes per year have been commonly recorded. This time, scientists were predicting a volcanic eruption.
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The local media show images of the night sky illuminated in bright red. A helicopter with scientific staff set out to assess the extent of the eruption, Reuters reported.
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The first image of the eruption. Taken from the Coast Guard helicopter. The southern end of the tongue is about 2.6 km from Suðurstrandarvegur. According to initial information, the fissure is about 200 m long. pic.twitter.com/MeRCLCtcrv
— Icelandic Meteorological Office – IMO (@Vedurstofan) March 19, 2021
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The first signs of volcanic activity were recorded by the meteorological station at 22:40 CET. The eruption was then confirmed by satellite images and webcams, the station said on its website. She wrote on Twitter that the seismographs, however, experienced very little turbulence.
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Illuminated sky after the eruption of the volcano in the area of Fagradalsfjall in Iceland
Photo: Vf.is, Reuters
Iceland’s Keflavík International Airport and the small fishing port of Grindavik are only a few kilometers away from the site of the explosion. However, the area is uninhabited and the eruption is not expected to endanger anyone, the AFP agency wrote.
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Iceland lies between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, which are slowly moving apart at a rate of about two centimeters per year. As a result, Iceland is experiencing frequent earthquakes. The source of the last wave of tremors was a large mass of molten rock known as magma, which moved about a mile below the surface of the peninsula, trying to break through to the surface.
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Volcano eruption in Iceland
Foto: Icelandic Meteorological Office, Reuters
