Vilhelm Gunnarsson / Getty Images
After a series of earthquakes in Iceland, the long dormant volcano Fagradalsfjall erupted on Friday night. The volcano is almost 40 km outside Reykjavik, the nearest city and the capital of the country, and has not threatened any lives or infrastructure damage.
“Gas pollution is not currently expected to cause much inconvenience to people except near the source of the eruption,” tweeted the Icelandic Meteorological Service this morning. “The gas emissions will be closely monitored.”
🌋 The volcano Fagradalsfjall, which has just started erupting, is on the Reykjanes peninsula in the southwest of Iceland. The eruption was preceded by a swarm of earthquakes, as we noticed a few days ago. https://t.co/5x8FBokq7V https://t.co/t4EWTnjPHB
Images of the eruption immediately flooded social media when residents of Iceland saw lava and ash rising from the volcano in the sky.
Vilhelm Gunnarsson / Getty Images
The country’s Minister of Justice, Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir, undertook a trip to the volcano when the eruption began to monitor the situation. Sigurbjörnsdóttir posted photos and a live video of the helicopter showing lava flowing from the eruption.
Photo I took tonight about the volcanic eruption at Reykjanes Iceland. We are closely monitoring the situation and it is not currently considered a threat to surrounding towns. 🌋🇮🇸 #Island
Local news agencies also have a live feed of the volcano in Ruv.
Residents of Reykjavik have posted surrealistic photos of a red glow in the sky showing Fagradalsfjall erupting.
The eruption also caused a rush of visitors who wanted to witness the event.
Among them was Icelandic singer Björk, who said on Instagram that the volcano, where she once filmed a music video, was 30 minutes from her home.
“YESSS !!, eruption !! we in Iceland are sooo excited !!! we still got it !!! feeling of relief when nature expresses itself !!!” she posted.
The Icelandic Coast Guard service is also keeping a close eye on the situation and posting photos, videos and updates of the scene.
On Saturday morning, one employee met a dog who was experiencing the sights.
Local photographers also rushed to the scene and shared incredible photos.
One person posted a video about what she said was the first commercial flight to the eruption site. “This is the most magical thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. I literally cried !!” she said on Instagram.
Flights to Fagradalsfjall were apparently busy as people took in the volcano in all its glory as soon as the sun rose.
One person posted a photo of the beautifully lit sky, saying, “What you see here is not a sunset, but a volcanic eruption at Fagradalsfjall.”
According to the country’s meteorological office“The eruption is small and the volcanic activity has decreased somewhat since last night.”
“Lava fountains are small and lava flows are currently very dangerous,” officials tweeted.
Icelandic Coast Guard / Getty Images