LONDON — A volcano erupted north of Grindavík, Iceland, just before 8 a.m. on Sunday, the Icelandic Met Office said.
A Coast Guard helicopter flew over the site, sending photos back that appeared to show lava flowing from “both sides of the defenses that have begun to be built north of Grindavík,” the Met said in an update posted in Icelandic. The lava was about 450 meters from the town, officials said.
“Judging by the pictures, lava is now flowing towards Grindavík,” the Met said.
A volcano spews lava and smoke as it erupts in Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland, Jan. 14, 2024.
Iceland Civil Protection via Reuters
The eruption followed an “intense” series of earthquakes that began around 3 a.m. near where a volcano erupted in December, the Met office said.
“At the time of publication, over 200 earthquakes have been measured in the area, and the seismicity has moved towards the town of Grindavík,” weather officials said in a notice posted before the eruption.
Lava flows in southwestern Iceland on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, in this image taken and released by Civil Protection of Iceland.
Civil Protection of Iceland
The earthquakes were in the Sundhnúksgígar crater, an area north of the town. The largest measured was an about 3.5 magnitude quake just after 4 a.m., the Met said.
Preliminary data showed Sunday’s eruption just south-southwest of Hagafell, a mountain on the Reykjanes peninsula, the Met said.