A volcanic eruption offers a fiery spectacle near Grindavik in Iceland | Volcano news

A volcano in southwest Iceland has erupted for the fifth time this year. This is Sundhnukagigar's most powerful eruption since the volcanic system became active three years ago.

The fiery spectacle began shortly after the end of an eight-week eruption between Hagafell and Stora-Skogfell on the same Reykjanes Peninsula.

The lava fountains were up to 50 meters high and the length of the fissure was about 3.4 km (2.1 miles), the Icelandic Weather Bureau said in a statement.

Flights continued as normal at Keflavik Airport in the capital Reykjavik, according to the airport's website.

It was Wednesday's eighth eruption since 2021 on the peninsula, home to about 30,000 people after geological systems that had lain dormant for 800 years became active again.

Such volcanic activity has disrupted district heating, closed key roads and razed several houses in the fishing town of Grindavik, where only a few residents have returned since an evacuation in late 2023.

Iceland's civil defense was put on alert, police said, and authorities again ordered the evacuation of Grindavik.

The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, known for its large outdoor pools, was closed and its guests evacuated.

Locals call Iceland the “land of fire and ice” – a tribute to its otherworldly landscape of mountain peaks, ice fields and fjords, a seismic hotbed between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.