Volcano erupts on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - A volcano began erupting on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said Monday.

"At 22:17 this evening, a volcanic eruption began north of Grindavik on the Reykjanes peninsula," said the office in a release.

"The eruption is located close to Sundhnúkagígar, about four kilometers northeast of Grindavik, and it can be seen on nearby web cameras," it said.

The eruption began following an earthquake that started around an hour earlier.

Hjördís Guðmundsdóttir, information officer at the country's Civil Protection Agency, asked residents to not go to the site and said the eruption would not be clear until a helicopter flew over the site.

"At first glance, it seems larger than the last eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula," Guðmundsdóttir told Iceland Monitor.

The eruption is reportedly the fourth in three years on the peninsula.