Iceland volcano erupts, prompting evacuation of Blue Lagoon

Iceland’s world-famous Blue Lagoon and the nearby town of Grindavik were evacuated on March 16 following a volcanic eruption in the country’s Reykjanes Peninsula.

Lava appeared to be flowing rapidly towards north of the town Grindavík, just as it did during the eruption on February 8, CNN reports citing Iceland’s public broadcaster RÚV.

RUV later reported that lava was also flowing toward the Grindavíkurvegur road – the main road leading to Grindavik.

“The fissure is about three kilometres long [about 1.9 miles], and runs from Stóra-Skógfell towards Hagafell,” the message says.

Iceland’s main international airport, Keflavik Airport, and other regional airports remain fully operational, RUV added. However, volcanic gas is expected to be detectable in the town near the airport on March 17, RUV reported.

The current eruption is the most powerful in the recent sequence of seismic activity, geophysicist Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson told RUV after returning from a helicopter flight over the site.

Guðmundsson said the fissure, which is very active now, extends from the northern side of Hagafell and north to Stóra-Skógfell. He estimated it was about 3.5 kilometres wide.