Molten rock has been spewing spectacularly from fissures in the ground after a volcano erupted in Iceland following weeks of intense earthquake activity.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office has said the lava is emerging from a crack in the earth’s surface which was around 3.5km (two miles) long and had grown rapidly.

An evacuation had already taken place in recent days, moving nearly 4,000 people out of the fishing town of Grindavik in the country’s southwest, as fears grew of an eruption from the Reykjanes peninsula.

There have been several eruptions in unpopulated areas in the peninsula in recent years, but the current outbreak was believed to pose an immediate risk to the town, authorities have said.

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A volcano has erupted in Iceland after weeks of intense earthquake activity.

The Icelandic Met Office said: “Seismic activity together with measurements from GPS devices indicate that the magma is moving to the southwest and the eruption may continue in the direction of Grindavik.”

Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland’s civil protection and emergency management, told the Icelandic public broadcaster RUV: “The magma flow seems to be at least a hundred cubic meters per second, maybe more.

Helicopter view of eruption
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Birds-eye-view of eruption. Pic: Iceland Coast Guard

Helicopter view of eruption
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Helicopter view of eruption

“So this would be considered a big eruption in this area at least.”

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The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa has also been closed as a precaution.

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

Pic: AP
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Pic: AP

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Pic: AP

Local police said they had raised their alert level as a result of the outbreak and the country’s civil defence warned the public not to approach the area while emergency personnel assessed the situation.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office said on its website shortly after the eruption on Monday: “Warning: Eruption has started north of Grindavik by Hagafell.”

The international airport in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, which is located nearby, remained open.

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From November: Volcanic rumbling causes cracks through Icelandic town

British holidaymaker Helen Hope was on a plane waiting for her flight back to Manchester to take off.

She told Sky News: “Most people were intrigued by it. People possibly started worrying more as we were delayed longer. Some passengers noticed it and then people were scrambling to have a look.

“The pilot has been waiting for the OK from various people in charge of safety to check which way the wind and any ash is blowing.”

Cars evacuating on Reykjanesbraut highway
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Cars evacuating on Reykjanesbraut highway. Pic: Public Safety Department of the National Police

Iceland was put on high alert for a volcano eruption in November when a state of emergency was declared.

The Reykjanes peninsula, a volcanic and seismic hot-spot around 30 miles southwest of Reykjavik, had been shaken by hundreds of small earthquakes every day for more than two weeks.

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The eruption seen from Vatnsleysustrand. Pic: Icelandic Met Office
Image:
The eruption seen from Vatnsleysustrand. Pic: Icelandic Met Office

In November, Icelandic authorities were working on a plan to protect the evacuated town of Grindavik from a volcanic eruption.

Scientists believed the most likely site for magma to break through the surface was a short distance from the town, and it could flow towards houses.

But Almannavarnir, the Icelandic civil defence, said earth walls would be built to divert a river of molten lava away from the town.

Located between the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates, among the largest on the planet, Iceland is a seismic and volcanic hotspot as the two plates move in opposite directions.