“I just made it to the volcano … my mind is completely blown, it’s crazy,” one onlooker instructed the Associated Press. “The last thing that I would have imagined this morning when I woke up would be to be standing and looking at this … it is so beautiful.”
Another man who had flocked to see the identical volcano erupt final 12 months mentioned it was “absolutely incredible,” describing the lava as a mesmerizing “dancing fire.”
The eruption, labeled as a volcanic fissure, is going on about 10 miles from Keflavik International Airport and about 20 miles from the nation’s capital, Reykjavik. As of Thursday morning, the airport — which has flights from Seattle, London and Frankfurt — remained open and operational.
“Currently, there have been no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open,” the Foreign Ministry mentioned in a statement.
International vacationers will recall the 2010 eruption of the nation’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed big ash clouds into the environment, grounding air site visitors and leaving hundreds of thousands stranded.
“What we know so far is that the eruption does not pose any risk to populated areas or critical infrastructure,” Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir mentioned in a press release. “We will of course continue to monitor the situation closely.”
A volcanic fissure doesn’t often end in massive explosions or vital dispersal of ash into the stratosphere. But individuals have been warned to remain away due to the chance from noxious fumes and scorching magma.
“The eruption follows intense seismic activity over the past few days,” the Foreign Ministry mentioned. “It is considered to be relatively small and due to its location, there is low threat to populated areas or critical infrastructure”
The actual location of the eruption is in Meradalir, about one mile north of Mt. Stori-Hrutur, in response to the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
The space has skilled “strong earthquakes” in latest days, it added, warning of tremors, falling rocks and fuel air pollution. The identical volcano additionally erupted final 12 months, it said, and lasted about six months.
Volcanoes are a truth of life in Iceland, a rustic that sits atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, attributable to the separation of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. On average, the nation experiences a volcanic occasion about each 4 years.
However, the identical geological exercise can be liable for a number of the nation’s most dramatic pure options, reminiscent of black sand seashores and geothermal lagoons, which draw hundreds of thousands of international vacationers.
Volcanic eruption has began in SW Iceland🌋
Risk to populated areas & essential infrastructure is taken into account very low and there have been no disruptions to flights.
Follow @Vedurstofan for updates and take a look at this reside stream from @mblfrettirhttps://t.co/ChoNxnR2Vp
— MFA Iceland 🇮🇸 (@MFAIceland) August 3, 2022
The present volcanic response is being led by Iceland’s division of Civil Protection and Emergency Management alongside the Meteorological Office and University of Iceland. Scientists are additionally within the space with Coast Guard helicopters to evaluate the scenario, the federal government mentioned.