Volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula erupts for seventh time in a year

A volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland has erupted for the seventh time since December, prompting evacuation orders.

Orange lava gushed from a fissure almost two miles long after the eruption started with little warning just after 11pm on Wednesday.

People living in about 50 houses nearby were told to leave, along with guests at the popular Blue Lagoon spa resort southwest of Reykjavik, national TV station RUV said.

While the eruption does not pose a threat to air travel, the authorities warned of gas emissions across parts of the peninsula, including the nearby town of Grindavik.

Repeated volcanic eruptions close to the town, which has a population of 3,800, have damaged infrastructure and property and forced many residents to leave for their own safety.

In August, police issued a state of emergency after a 2.4 mile-long crack opened up at the Sundhnukagigar crater near Grindavik, sending lava flowing both east and west.

The latest activity is estimated to be considerably smaller than August’s eruption, according to Iceland‘s meteorological office that monitors seismic activity.

Geophysics professor Magnus Tumi Guomundsson, who flew over the scene with Iceland’s civil protection agency, told RUV “in the big picture” the eruption was smaller than those in both May and August.

“Grindavik is not in danger as it looks and it is unlikely that this crack will get any longer, although nothing can be ruled out,” he said.

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Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages one eruption every four to five years.

The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for months.