A volcano in Iceland erupted Saturday evening for the fourth time in three months and sent orange streams of lava into the night sky.
The eruption in Iceland caused a crack in the earth about 3 kilometers (2 miles) long between Stóra-Skógfell and Hagafell mountains on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
For weeks, the Met Office had been warning that semi-molten rock (magma) was gathering under the ground, making an eruption likely.
When the eruption started, hundreds of people were evacuated from the Blue Lagoon thermal spa, a popular tourist spot in Iceland, according to national broadcaster RUV.
Keflavik, Iceland’s main airport near the eruption site, did not experience any flight disruptions.
The eruption site is located a few kilometers northeast of Grindavik, a coastal town with 3,800 residents, about 50 kilometers southwest of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik.
View image in full screen
(AP Photo/Marco di Marco)
View image in full screen
(AP Photo/Marco di Marco)
View image in full screen
(Iceland Civil Defense via AP)
In November, Grindavik was evacuated when the Svartsengi volcanic system became active after nearly 800 years, causing large cracks in the ground north of the town.
The volcano eventually erupted on Dec. 18, sending lava flowing away from Grindavik. A second eruption that began on Jan. 14 sent lava toward the town. Defensive walls that had been strengthened after the first eruption stopped some of the flow, but several buildings were consumed by the lava.
Both eruptions lasted only a matter of days. A third eruption started on Feb. 8 and ended within hours.
According to RUV, geophysicist Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson stated that the latest eruption is the most powerful one so far.
View image in full screen
(AP Photo/Marco di Marco)
View image in full screen
(AP Photo/Marco di Marco)
Iceland experiences frequent volcanic eruptions due to its location above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic and has a lot of expertise in handling them. The most disruptive recent eruption was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which emitted large ash clouds into the atmosphere and caused extensive airspace closures across Europe.
No confirmed deaths have been reported from any of the recent eruptions, but a worker was reported missing after falling into a crack created by the volcano.
