A volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula erupted just after 10 pm on 18 December 2023 after weeks of intense earthquake activity. The eruption resulted in the evacuation of around 4,000 people from the fishing town of Grindavik. The peninsula, which is just south-west of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, has been experiencing an increase in seismic activity since late October. Officials from the Icelandic Met Office said the eruption was located about 4km (2.5 miles) north-east of Grindavik. The length of the fissure in the volcano is about 3.5km, with the lava flowing at a rate of around 100 to 200 cubic metres per second, according to the Met Office. They added that this was many times more than in previous eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula in recent years. However, Icelandic officials have moved to reassure people that the powerful eruption will not cause the same level of disruption as that of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 when flights across Europe were disrupted.
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