The Fagradalsberg volcano in southwestern Iceland has been dormant for 6,000 years. But Friday night, after that weeks of earthquakes in the area, the volcano came to life.
The eruption is the first to experience the Reykjanes Peninsula, where the volcano is located, in 781 years.
In the video of the eruption, the bright lava is shown from the earth and illuminated by an otherwise dark dark night. According to the Associated Press and photos of the glow, the glow of the lava can be seen up to 20 miles from Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland.
Icelandic police tweeted on Friday that people should stay indoors and keep their windows closed to prevent gas pollution. When volcanic eruptions erupt, lava, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, spews out several potentially dangerous gases, including sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen fluoride.
However, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said on Saturday morning that the pollution from this eruption “is not expected to cause much inconvenience to people except near the source of the eruption.”
On its website, the office said “no volcanic ash is detected, but a high level of volcanic gases was measured near the eruption site.” Scientists and officials are closely monitoring the emissions.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office reported on Saturday morning that volcanic activity had ‘somewhat decreased’ since Friday night. Scientists from the department did not mention major concerns to people in the area, as the lava area is less than 1 square kilometer. Eruptive cracks – cracks in the earth’s surface from which lava comes – are about 500 to 700 meters long, according to the office.
“Lava fountains are small and lava flows are currently a very local hazard,” the office tweeted.
The Scientific Council for Civil Protection said on Saturday morning that they do not believe the eruption is a threat to structures.
A small earthquake happened a few hours before the volcano erupted.
Southwest Iceland was hit with a “swarm” of thousands of earthquakes since February 24th. Dozens of them had a strength of 3 or higher, which means they can be felt. On Thursday, just one day before the eruption, the IMO reported that it was 400 earthquakes in a span of seven hours. Despite the magnitude, it was ‘somewhat less’ seismic activity compared to other mornings where there were about 1,000 earthquakes.