COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – A volcanic eruption started in southwest Iceland near the capital Reykjavik on Friday after thousands of small earthquakes in the area in recent weeks, the country’s meteorological office said.
The eruption occurred near Fagradalsfjall, a mountain on the Reykjanes Peninsula, located about 30 km (19 miles) southwest of the capital.
“I can see the bright red sky from my window,” said Rannveig Gudmundsdottir, a resident of the city of Grindavik, just 8 km (5 miles) from the eruption.
“Everyone here is getting into their cars to drive there,” she said.
More than 40,000 earthquakes have occurred on the peninsula in the past four weeks, a huge jump from the 1,000-3,000 earthquakes recorded each year since 2014.
Photos on local media sites showed a bright red night sky. A photo posted on Twitter by the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) showed smoke rising from shiny lava flows.
The eruption did not pose an immediate danger to people in Grindavik or critical infrastructure, IMO said.
“I don’t think we could expect anything better than that,” IMO’s volcanic risk coordinator Sara Barsotti told Reuters.
Unlike the Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in 2010, which disrupted some 900,000 flights and expelled hundreds of Icelanders from their homes, this eruption is unlikely to release much ash or smoke into the atmosphere, IMO said.
Located between the tectonic plates of Eurasia and North America, one of the largest on the planet, Iceland is a seismic and volcanic hotspot, as the two plates move in opposite directions.
The source of the eruption is a large body of molten rock, known as magma, which has made its way to the surface in recent weeks, instigating earthquakes.
The number of earthquakes has declined in recent days, prompting geologists to say that an eruption would be less likely.
Reykjavik’s Keflavik International Airport was not closed after the eruption, but each airline had to decide for itself whether it wants to fly or not, IMO said.
A helicopter with scientists on board was scheduled to observe the eruption, IMO said.
Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen; Editing by Leslie Adler and Matthew Lewis