10 months ago
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Volcano in southwest Iceland has erupted, spewing lava and smoke across a large area after weeks of intense earthquake activity
In its latest statement on the rapidly changing situation, updated at 3am local time, the Icelandic Met Office said the 4km long eruptive fissure was nearly 3km from the edge of Grindavík.
The intensity of the volcanic eruption, which started about four hours ago, is decreasing. This is evident from seismic and GPS measurements.
The fact that the activity is decreasing already is not an indication of how long the eruption will last, but rather that the eruption is reaching a state of equilibrium. This development has been observed at the beginning of all eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula in recent years.
The eruptive fissure is about 4 km long, with the northern end just east of Stóra-Skógfell and the southern end just east of Sundhnúk. The distance from the southern end to the edge of Grindavík is almost 3 km.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office continues to monitor the activity and is in direct contact with civil protection and response units in the area. A meeting of scientists will be held tomorrow morning to evaluate the overnight development of the eruption.
