REYKJAVIK, Iceland
A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland after weeks of intense earthquake activity.
About 4,000 people were
earlier evacuated from the fishing town of Grindavik and the nearby Blue Lagoon
geothermal spa was closed.
The eruption started north of
the town at 22:17 local time (22:17 GMT), the Icelandic Met Office said.
The region around the capital
Reykjavik has been experiencing an increase in earthquake activity since late
October.
Images and videos posted on
social media showed lava bursting from the volcano just an hour after an
earthquake swarm, or seismic events, were detected.
A coastguard helicopter has
been sent to the area to confirm the exact location and size of the eruption.
The Met Office said that the
eruption was located about 4km (2.5 miles) north-east of Grindavik and the
seismic activity was moving towards the town.
The length of the crack in the
volcano is about 3.5km, with the lava flowing at a rate of around 100 to 200
cubic metres per second, it added.
It said that this was many
times more than in previous eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula in recent
years.
A senior police officer at the
Civil Defence told national broadcaster RUV the eruption had happened quickly
and appeared to be "quite a large event".
Vidir Reynisson said the lava
appeared to be flowing in all directions from a large crack in the volcano.
"The jets [of lava] are
quite high, so it appears to be a powerful eruption at the beginning," he
said.
The eruption can be seen from
Reykjavik, which is about 42km north-east of Grindavik.
One eyewitness in the city
told the BBC that half of the sky in the direction of Grindavik was "lit
up in red".
He said smoke could also be
billowing into the air, with police warning people to stay away from the area.
Iceland's Prime Minister
Katrin Jakobsdottir said defences recently constructed would have a positive
effect.
She said her thoughts were
with the local community and she was hoping for the best despite the
"significant event".
President Gudni Johannesson
said safeguarding lives was the main priority but that every effort would be
made to protect structures too.
In April 2010, the
Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption caused the largest closure of European
airspace since World War Two, as a result of an extensive ash cloud.
Losses were estimated at
between 1.5bn and 2.5bn euros (£1.3-2.2bn; $1.6-2.7bn).
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