A volcano in southwestern Iceland, which had long been dormant, began erupting Friday night, but officials said it looked small and was not considered a threat to any towns.
The eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula was seen on webcam and later confirmed, the Icelandic Weather Office said in a statement. Aerial video on its Facebook page shows lava moving at a slow pace.
“The eruption is considered small at this stage,” he said. said on Twitter, which estimated that the rift was about 500 meters long.
The emergency management department did not expect evacuations because the volcano is in a remote valley, reports The Associated Press. The Prime Minister of Iceland said that at present it is not considered a threat to any towns.
Reykjavík is about 32 kilometers away.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland, said officials were watching closely.
“From now on, it is not considered a threat to surrounding villages,” she wrote in a tweet. “We ask people to stay away from the immediate area and stay safe.”
The emergency management agency on Twitter urged people to stay calm and stay away from the eruption site. It is said that volcanic gases are expected to be produced and that people in the area will have to stay indoors and keep windows closed. The amount of pollution is assessed.
The Fagradals mountain volcano has been dormant for 6,000 years, and the Reykjanes peninsula has not seen an eruption of any volcano in 781 years, reports the AP.
There have been earthquakes and other seismic activities on that peninsula, but activity in the area of the eruption has been lower over the past few days, the meteorological office said in a statement.
In 2010, another volcano in another part of Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull, erupted an erupting volcanic ash that spread and caused major fly disruptions in Europe, affecting travel worldwide. The current eruption is not expected to emit much ash or smoke into the atmosphere, Reuters reports.
The Associated Press contributed.