Four times in three months, volcanic eruptions in Iceland, making it the "most powerful so far."

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17 Mar 2024

Orange lava fountains are rising far into the sky and casting a brilliant glow across the horizon; according to a geophysicist, this most recent eruption is the "most powerful so far".

Livestreams from the location revealed molten rock fountains shooting out of the earth's fractures and into the night sky.

For weeks, officials have been alerting the public about the impending eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, which is located south of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office verified that on Saturday night, a volcanic eruption had begun between Stora Skogfell and Hagafell.

Police have declared a state of emergency in and around the town of Grindavik, where around 4,000 residents had returned after previous outbreaks.

According to public broadcaster RUV, evacuations were happening.

Hundreds of vacationers were evacuated from the well-known Blue Lagoon spa, which is just a short distance northwest of the volcano site.

On December 18, the volcano erupted, causing lava to flow out from Grindavik.

Lava was directed toward the town on January 14 by a second eruption. Some of the flow stemmed from defensive walls that had been reinforced during the initial eruption, but many homes were destroyed by fire. Only a few days passed between the two eruptions.

On February 8, a third eruption wrecked roads and pipelines, cutting off district heating for almost 20,000 people. However, the eruption was short-lived, lasting only a few hours.

According to RUV, geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson stated that this most recent eruption is the strongest to date.

The most recent disruption occurred in 2010 when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted, sending massive clouds of ash into the atmosphere and forcing extensive closures of aviation throughout Europe. Fissure eruptions, the type of volcanic eruptions that occur on the Reykjanes peninsula, are characterized by a lack of big explosions or extensive ash distribution into the stratosphere.

However, scientists believe they might continue for decades, and authorities have started erecting dykes to redirect scorching lava flows away from houses and key infrastructure.