Iceland volcano erupts for seventh time in a year but experts say activity has peaked

euronews (in English)

The volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula Lying had been dormant for around 800 years before the geological systems suddenly sprang back into life in 2021.

Transcript

00:00A volcano on the southwestern Reykjanes peninsula erupted again late on Wednesday night, the

00:07seventh such eruption in a year.

00:10Officials say the latest eruption is considerably smaller than the previous one in August and

00:15indicates that volcanic activity in the area has reached its peak.

00:20The repeated volcanic eruptions close to the town of Grindervik have damaged infrastructure

00:25and property and forced many residents to evacuate.

00:30Authorities say the town isn't threatened further by this latest eruption, but it remains

00:34mostly deserted following evacuation orders issued in December last year.

00:40Iceland's main international airport, Keflavik, said in a statement on its website that flights

00:45were unaffected and no critical infrastructure was at risk.

00:49But the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, one of Iceland's most popular tourist destinations,

00:54had shut down and evacuated its guests.

00:58Iceland lies on the fault line between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates

01:02and is a hotspot for seismic activity.

01:06The volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula had been dormant for around 800 years before the

01:11geological system sprang back into life in 2021.

01:17Eruptions in the area have since been more and more frequent, with the latest volcanic

01:20activity being the sixth this year alone.

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