Incredible photos have captured the moment a volcano in Iceland erupted for the first time in 900 years.
Coastguard officials and police officers rushed to the scene after the volcano erupted around 9:45 pm. Residents in and outside the area have been advised to stay away as a huge red cloud lit up the night sky.
Footage posted by the Icelandic Meteorological Office – IMO on Twitter shows streams of red lava flowing out of a fissure in the ground.
“A new video of the eruption at Geldingardalur valley in Reykjanes peninsula. Taken from the Coast Guard helicopter,” IMO wrote.
“The fissure is estimated to be around 200 metres (219 yards) long,” IMO said.
A Grindavik resident, Rannveig Gudmundsdottir, said: “I can see the glowing red sky from my window. Everyone here is getting into their cars to drive up there.”
According to the Meteorological Office, the Krysuvic volcanic system has been inactive for the last 900 years.
The area has been under surveillance for several weeks after a 5.7 magnitude earthquake on February 24. It has since been followed by a number of smaller tremors – over 50,000, the highest number since digital recordings started in 1991.
The Krysuvik volcanic system is located south of Mount Fafradalsfjall.
“The first notification was received by the Meteorological Office at 2140 GMT. The eruption was confirmed through webcams and satellite images,” the institute posted on its website.
A new video of the eruption at Geldingardalur valley in Reykjanes peninsula. Taken from the Coast Guard helicopter. #Reykjanes #Eruption #Fagradalsfjall pic.twitter.com/B862heMzQL
— Icelandic Meteorological Office – IMO (@Vedurstofan) March 19, 2021
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The most recent volcanic eruption in the country was at Holuhraun, starting in August 2014 and ended in February 2015. Fortunately, it did not cause any disruptions outside the immediate regions.
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