Global Courant
Icelandic President Gudni Johannesson described the disaster as a “black day” for the country, although no fatalities were reported.
A volcano has erupted in Iceland, sending streams of molten lava into the outskirts of a small fishing village and flooding homes.
At least three houses were set on fire on Sunday when lava reached the edge of Grindavik harbour, according to live footage broadcast on public television.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries and airline flights were not affected.
Icelandic President Gudni Johannesson described the disaster as a “black day” for his country.
“No lives are at risk, although infrastructure may be threatened,” Johannesson said on social media site X.
The eruption occurred just before 8 a.m. local time (8 a.m. GMT), after local authorities evacuated the city’s 4,000 residents following a series of small earthquakes, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.
A crack that opened in the ground about 450 meters from Grindavik on Sunday morning had turned into a fissure about 900 meters long as of 6.45pm, the Meteorological Office said.
According to the office, a second rift opened around noon on the outskirts of the city, measuring about 100 meters by the evening.
It is the second time in less than a month that the volcano southwest of the capital Reykjavik has erupted and the North Atlantic country’s fifth volcanic eruption in less than three years.
Grindavik was evacuated in November after large cracks developed in the earth prior to an eruption on December 18.
Before Sunday’s eruption, rescuers had built defensive walls around the town, which residents had returned to on December 22, but had not yet completed work on the barriers.
Local resident Sveinn Ari Gudjonsson described the disaster as “tragic” for the close-knit community, which he likened to a family.
“It’s surreal, it’s like watching a movie,” 55-year-old Gudjonsson told the AFP news agency.
Iceland, home to approximately 370,000 people and located approximately 800 miles northwest of the United Kingdom, is home to more than 30 active volcanoes, making the northern European island a prime destination for volcano tourism.
