Iceland volcano eruption finally begins near Grindavik after weeks of earthquakes – live news

All routes to the town of Grindavik will be closed to commuters for the next few days due to the volcanic eruption near the fishing town.

“We would like to ask people not to go to the eruption and remember that gases from this could be dangerous,” Iceland’s Public Safety Department said on Facebook.

It added that scientists would require a few days to assess the eruption and that the authorities would re-evaluate the situation every hour.“We would also like to ask roaders to respect the closures and show understanding.”

Tourists and locals have been warned of the risk of high and dangerous waves at the picturesque Reynisfjara beach in Iceland “for the next few days”, the authorities said in an alert posted on the government’s Safe Travel website.

It was unclear whether the warning was related to Monday’s volcanic eruption near the town of Grindavik, located nearly 230km west of the popular black sand beach.

“Stay far away from the sea, keep children near your and do NOT enter the cave,” the authorities said.

In a separate update, the officials said the “eruption area is CLOSED until further notice. Please respect the closure”.

The 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 Icelandic Met Office said in an update on Monday.

The crack in the earth’s surface was around 3.5km long and had grown rapidly, it added.

Some 100 to 200 cubic metres of lava emerged per second, several times more than in previous eruptions in the area, according to the Met Office.

The volcanic eruption that lit up skies in Iceland on Monday is centered around the Fagradalsfjall volcano, officials said, ABC News reports.

Seismologists had been warning it could blow in the coming weeks, and volcanoes within the Fagradalsfjall system have been erupting periodically in recent times since 2019.

In a “warning” message on its website on Monday night, the Met Office states: “Eruption has started north of Grindavik by Hagafell.”

The eruption prompted the Icelandic police to declare an emergency and activate the Civil Protection Coordination Centre.

“We want to start by not asking people to go to the site at all. We don’t know how far the eruption is from Grindavík. It won’t be clear until a helicopter has flown over the site,” Hjördís Guðmundsdóttir, information officer at the Civil Protection Agency, told Iceland Monitor.

More details in our full story.

The international airport in Reykjavik, located near the volcanic eruption, remained open although there were delays listed for both arrivals and departures.

“There are no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open,” foreign minister Bjarne Benediktsson said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A coastguard helicopter will attempt to confirm the exact location – and size – of the eruption, and will also measure gas emissions, the authorities said.

Monitor the latest from the volcanic eruption in Iceland via this livestream from public broadcaster RÚV.

The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa has temporarily shut down its operations following Monday’s volcano eruption in southwest Iceland, according to a note on its website.

The popular tourist attraction near the town of Grindavik had initially shut operations on 9 November following scores of minor earthquakes.

“We will continue to monitor the progress and maintain close communication with the authorities, prioritising safety and well-being,” the Blue Lagoon said in a statement.

Iceland has spent weeks on edge, worried that a volcanic eruption could take place near the town of Grindavík.

The Independent visited the region last month, as residents evacuated by the thousands.

Get all the details from Barney Davis’s story.

An Icelandic scientist who observed the site of Monday’s volcanic eruption from the air says the location of the incident may mean nearby towns like Grindavík avoid serious damage for the time being.

Still, he warned, “This is a much bigger eruption than the eruptions that have come before.”