Iceland’s volcano has finally erupted after thousands of earthquakes over the past weeks which has seen more than 4,000 people evacuated.
Iceland’s Meteorological Office confirmed the volcanic eruption of Mount Fagradalsfjall on Monday evening at 2017pm local time, which has turned the sky red as lava is spewing into the air.
Iceland finally cracked open to unleash torrents of lava. While tourists have flocked to to see past eruptions, officials are warning this new eruption is not “tourist-friendly” and seems to be significantly larger than the Fagradalsfjall in 2021
Here’s what to know🧵 pic.twitter.com/pAgUXeO4uv
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They said, “An eruption has started north of Grindavík. It can be seen on webcams and seems to be located close to Hagafell, about 3 kilometres north of Grindavík.”
The Icelandic Met Office’s Lovísa Mjöll Guðmundsdóttir said, “The activity of the eruption has been greatly reduced since the beginning and the average lava flow is 250 cubic meters per second.
Meanwhile, a volcano erupts in Iceland. pic.twitter.com/CnNlXU4w5n
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“But there is great uncertainty in the measurements regarding the lava flow and this is only a first estimate.”
People have said they saw “volcanic walls of fire” reaching as high as 150 metres, Arnar Kristinn Stefànsson, told the Mirror, “Of all the volcanic eruptions on the peninsula of Reykjanes we can see it clearly from our town Hafnafjörður. I went out to take pictures and the sky is literally red.”
The volcanic eruption in Iceland looks very dangerous but magical at the same time! 🌋 pic.twitter.com/wA3x7UAyPe
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Icelandic volcanologist Thorvaldur Thordarson said, “This is the worst place, it looks like it. West of the pasture and up there, and then probably up through the Sundhnúkar crater row, which are just north of it.
“There are super-high plumes of magma.
“Now it’s a total guess, but the highest plumes are probably 150 metres. This means that the lava is flowing very quickly from the crater This may be close to the worst case imaginable. Unfortunately.”
Iceland Police said in a statement, “An eruption has begun. We ask people not to be in front of the responders and not to go in the direction of the eruption.
“It is important that roads and other things are as accessible as possible.”
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