As first reported over a month ago about the potential of eruption, last night, about 5:17 p.m. (EST), 10:17 p.m. Iceland time, the volcano erupted.
The volcanic eruption is located about 30 miles southwest of the capitol city of Reykjavik and 2.5 miles northeast from the coastal fishing town of Grindavik, where almost 4,000 residents were evacuated on November 10, when it began getting earthquakes.
The eruption first began spewing lava from the 2.5-mile long fissure/crack in the surface; lava reached heights of about 330 feet in the air and was flowing at a rate of 66,000 gallons per second.
At this point, the lava is slowing down to roughly 16,500 gallons per second and is reaching heights of about 100 feet in the air. The lava does not appear to be flowing toward the town of Grindavik, and doesn’t have any threat to life or the Svartsengi power plant.
There aren’t any flight disruptions to and from Iceland because there aren’t any large plumes of smoke and/or ash in the skies. The winds are forecasted to push the toxic sulfur dioxide gas away from populated areas.
There is no definitive timeline of how long this eruption will last, or if the fissure will expand, but meteorological experts are estimating 7-10 days of activity.
No deaths are reported.
By - FZ
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