Grindavik’s volcano spews plumes of lava as residents urged to flee again

Grindavik’s volcano spews plumes of lava as residents urged to flee again. Picture: EPA/AAP

A volcano in Iceland has erupted for the second time as residents have been forced to flee again just weeks after returning to their homes.

A volcano in Iceland has erupted for the second time this month as residents were forced to evacuate only weeks after being allowed to return to their homes.

Iceland has been on high alert since the early hours of Sunday morning local time as the Reykjanes peninsula volcano spewed bursts of lava and sent huge plumes of smoke into the sky, The Sun reports.

The eruption took place just before 8am on Sunday after a swarm of at least 200 earthquakes near the south-western town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.

A volcano in Iceland has erupted for the second time with lava explosions and billowing smoke seen near residential buildings in the southwestern Icelandic town of Grindavik. Picture: Halldor Kolbeins/AFP

“Lava is flowing a few hundred meters north of the town, this is 400 to 500 meters,” a spokesperson added.

Dramatic footage of the disaster shows the lava heading for the fishing community of 3,800 people, which had to previously evacuated ahead of a huge eruption only last month.

The eruption seems to have breached the barriers of earth and rock that Iceland attempted to build in the last few weeks to keep lava from reaching Grindavik.

Iceland’s prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir has admitted that the recent eruption was “frightening”.

A helicopter flies near lava explosions and smoke near residential buildings after a volcanic eruption on January 14. Picture: Halldor Kolbeins/AFP

“The Civil Defense has of course been very keen to observe from day to day,” Ms Jakobsdóttir told local media.

“Once again, I want to say that it was the right decision to evacuate tonight, even though we expected it wouldn’t happen until tomorrow.

“Of course, we have all eyes on this area to ensure the safety of the residents.

“However, it is quite clear that this is a huge burden for the townspeople. Naturally, the pressure is starting to take its toll on people.

“As the situation is now, we are seeing that the lava is flowing towards Grindavík.”

This is Iceland's fifth volcanic eruption in two years, the previous one occurring on December 18, 2023 in the same region southwest of the capital Reykjavik. Picture: Halldor Kolbeins/AFP

“The ramparts, however, may be useful even if the southern part of the fissure extends into them. We are monitoring the situation from minute to minute.”

The new evacuation order is expected to last three weeks which will cause a lot of disruption as the town plays host to a popular tourist attraction Blue Lagoon.

Iceland's National Police Commissioner raised the level of public safety from danger to the level of emergency on January 14. Picture: EPA/AAP

A British couple on holiday nearby said it was “alarming” to see a volcano erupting as they travelled to the airport on Sunday.

Lorraine Crawford, 67, and her 70-year-old husband John, from Essex, took a trip to Reykjavik on Thursday along with Mr Crawford’s cousin, Michael Daltrey, and his wife, Faye.

“It’s alarming in a way – it’s quite exciting to see something like that but then you realise that this could do quite a lot of damage,” Ms Crawford said.

Reykjanes peninsula is home to 32 active volcanoes which were dormant for 800 years until 2021. Picture: EPA/AAP

“On the way [to the airport], we thought it was just a fire in the distance but [the taxi driver] said it was the actual volcano erupting.”

She added that they had heard a “really loud noise” and a “really loud rumble” from the airport, but they were not sure what had caused it.

In November, Grindavik’s were residents had to move out to safety ahead of the largest volcanic eruption to date in their area when an earthquake swarm led to cracks and openings in the earth between the town and Slingarfell, a small mountain to the north.

Inhabitants of Grindavik described being whisked from their homes as the ground shook, roads cracked and buildings suffered structural damage in a devastating spell of bad weather.

They had to stay away from the town for six weeks following a series of earthquakes and were only allowed to return on December 22.

In the weeks since, defensive walls had been placed around the volcano in hopes of directing the magma away from the community.

But the walls of the barriers built north of Grindavik proved no match for the lava that is on the move towards the community.

Iceland is seen as a seismic and volcanic hot spot as the two plates – Eurasian and North American – move in opposite directions.

Reykjanes peninsula is home to 32 active volcanoes which were dormant for 800 years until 2021.

Since then, Iceland saw five eruptions, with the biggest one in December 2023.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission