Town and spa evacuated as formerly dormant volcano begins to erupt

A volcano began erupting in south-western Iceland on Tuesday, just hours after authorities evacuated a nearby community and the Blue Lagoon spa.

Flames and smoke shot through the air as the volcanic fissure opened near the town of Grindavik, where some 40 homes have been evacuated, national broadcaster RUV reported.

The community, located on the Reykjanes Peninsula, was largely evacuated a year ago when the volcano came to life after lying dormant for 800 years.

Webcams showed molten rock spewing out toward the community.

“The fissure is now about 500 metres long and has reached through the protective barrier north of Grindavik,” Iceland’s Met Office said in a statement.

“The fissure continues to grow, and it cannot be ruled out that it may continue to open further south.”

The magma flow began at about 6.30am local time accompanied by an intense earthquake storm similar to previous eruptions, the Icelandic Met Office said.