A volcano in Iceland erupted on Sunday after hundreds of earthquakes shook the Reykjanes peninsula, prompting evacuations in a town near where a fissure opened up and spewed lava last month.
The eruption happened at about 8 a.m. local time near Sundhnjúkar north of the town of Grindavik, according to local news media and the nation’s civil defense agency.
At least 200 earthquakes struck the area near Grindavik, 32 miles southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, on Sunday starting at about 3 a.m. local time, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
Before the eruption, the civil defense agency ordered the evacuation of Grindavik and said an eruption was imminent.
The latest eruption happened along a row of volcanoes on the Reykjanes Peninsula, where a fissure opened up in December and erupted, creating a glowing and winding river of lava.
Persons:
Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson
Organizations:
Coast Guard, Icelandic Meteorological
Locations:
Iceland, Sundhnjúkar, Grindavik, Reykjavik