Volcano erupts in Iceland near the capital after weeks of seismic activity

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – A volcanic eruption began Friday in southwest Iceland, near the capital Reykjavik, after thousands of small earthquakes in the area in recent weeks, the country’s meteorological service said.

The eruption took place near Fagradalsfjall, a mountain on the Reykjanes peninsula, about 30 km southwest of the capital.

“I can see the glowing red sky from my window,” said Rannveig Gudmundsdottir, who lives in the town of Grindavik, just five miles from the eruption.

“Everyone here gets in the car to drive there,” she said.

In the past four weeks, more than 40,000 earthquakes have occurred on the peninsula, a huge leap from the 1,000-3,000 quakes recorded every year since 2014.

Photos on local media websites showed a bright red night sky. A photo posted on Twitter by the Icelandic Meteorological Bureau (IMO) showed smoke rising from brightly glowing lava flows.

The eruption did not pose an immediate danger to people in Grindavik or critical infrastructure, IMO said.

“I don’t think we can hope for anything better,” said Sara Barsotti, volcanic hazards coordinator at IMO.

Unlike the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which halted about 900,000 flights and forced hundreds of Icelanders out of their homes, this eruption is not expected to spew much ash or smoke into the atmosphere, IMO said.

Located between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates, one of the largest in the world, Iceland is a seismic and volcanic hotspot because the two plates move in opposite directions.

The source of the eruption is a large amount of molten rock, known as magma, that has pushed to the surface in recent weeks, causing the earthquakes.

However, the number of earthquakes had declined in recent days, leading geologists to say an eruption would be less likely.

Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik was not closed after the eruption, but each airline had to decide for themselves whether to fly or not, IMO said.

A helicopter with scientific personnel on board had been scrambled to observe the eruption, IMO said.