Volcano erupts in south west Iceland

[Gefn]

A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula of south-west Iceland after weeks of intense earthquake activity.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67756413

[Gefn]

update

bout 4,000 people were earlier evacuated from the fishing town of Grindavik and the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa was closed.
The eruption started north of the town at 22:17 local time (22:17 GMT), the Icelandic Met Office says.

The region around Reykjavik has been experiencing an increase in earthquake activity since late October.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67756413

[libertybele]

Wow! I hope everyone was able to get out of harm's way.

Iceland volcano erupts after weeks of increased seismic activity



Updated 18 December at 23:00

At 22:17 this evening, a volcanic eruption began north of Grindavík on the Reykjanes peninsula. The eruption is located close to Sundhnúkagígar, about four kilometres northeast of Grindavík, and it can be seen on nearby web cameras. The eruption was preceded by an earthquake swarm that started at 21:00.

A Coast Guard helicopter will take off shortly to confirm the exact location and size of the eruption.

More information will be available soon.