Volcano erupts again on Iceland peninsula

Posted on by News Room AB
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Icelandic police declared a state of emergency as lava spewed from a new volcanic fissure on the Reykjanes peninsula on Saturday, the fourth eruption to hit the area since December.

“A volcanic eruption has started between stora Skogfell and Hagafell on the Reykjanes Peninsula,” said a statement from the Icelandic Met Office (IMO). Live video images showed glowing lava and billowing smoke.

Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management announced it had sent a helicopter to narrow down the exact location of the new fissure. The authority also said the police had declared a state of emergency due to the eruption.

According to the IMO, the eruption occurred close to the same location as a previous one on 8 February. Lava appeared to flow south towards the dykes built to protect the fishing village Grindavik, it said.

Just after 2200 GMT, “the southern lava front was just 200 metres from the barriers on the eastern side of Grindavik and moving at a rate of about 1 kilometre per hour,” it added.Lava was also flowing west, as it had on 8 February, and the length of the fissure was estimated to be 2.9 kilometres (1.8 miles), said the IMO.

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