Volcano Erupts in Iceland Following Days of Earthquakes

A volcano erupted Wednesday morning in Iceland near the capital city of Reykjavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (Met Office) reported on Twitter. The eruption occurred at Fagradalsfjall's Geldingadalir volcano.

"Eruption has started near Fagradalsfjall," the Met Office wrote on Twitter.

The Iceland Monitor posted a livestream of the eruption on YouTube, showing lava coming out of a crack in the ground as smoke sweeps the area. The lava reached the surface in the Reykjanes peninsula for the first time since last September, the outlet reported.

Geographer Benjamin Hennig tweeted: "Reykjanes is alive - the Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption resumes activity:@mblfrettir was first to report news of an active lava flow."

The Reykjanes peninsula saw a six-month eruption in early 2021, the first in the area in about 800 years, Bloomberg reported. The fishing town Grindavik, where about 3,600 people reside, is nearby.

Ein­ar Hjör­leifs­son, a specialist in natural hazards with the Met Office, told Bloomberg that "lava is coming from a crack in the ground" and confirmed that "this is a fissure eruption and we expect it to have little effect on air traffic."

However, the Met Office told Reuters that a "code red" was declared to ban planes from flying over the immediate site, but helicopters will be sent to inspect the situation.

Iceland's Keflavík Airport was alerted as part of the regular procedure during volcanic events, but flights were not canceled and the airport resumed operations, according to Bloomberg. Additionally, the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management noted that volcanic activity doesn't currently pose danger to infrastructure or lives.

More than 10,000 earthquakes have been detected in the Reykjanes peninsula since Saturday, according to the Iceland Monitor.

The outlet reported that the smaller earthquakes of less than a magnitude of 4 have been detected since Monday, but bigger earthquakes of 4.7 magnitude were detected earlier. Residents in Reykjavik felt a 5.47-magnitude quake on Sunday, according to the Met Office.

"There are indications that the deformation and seismicity is declining and this was precursory to the eruption which started on 19th March 2021," the Met Office said in a statement on Tuesday. "Considering all of the above, the likelihood of an eruption at Fagradalsfjall within the coming days is considered to be substantial.

"Preliminary deformation modelling results suggest the top depth of the new dike intrusion beneath Fagradalsfjall is very shallow - about 1 km. The magma inflow rate is rapid, almost double that observed during the first dike intrusion in February-March 2021."

Newsweek reached out to Einar Hjörleifsson for additional comment and information.

Update 8/3/22, 2:43 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.