Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula Volcano Eruption Subsides

Lava flow poses potential threat to evacuated town of Grindavík and Svartsengi power plant

Lava erupted through a fissure in Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula on Dec. 18, 2023, shooting almost 100 feet (30 meters) in the air in its early hours.
The fissure where magma erupted is a few miles from the town of Grindavík and just east of Svartsengi power plant and adjacent Blue Lagoon thermal spa.
If the fissure continues to propagate to the south, or if a large volume of lava erupts, the evacuated town of Grindavík, with a population of around 3,500, may be in danger.
The lava could also spill to the northwest toward the power plant, although the utility built rock walls to try to divert lava flows.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office estimates that hundreds of cubic meters of lava per second escaped the volcano in the first two hours of the eruption, though the activity had significantly subsided by Tuesday afternoon.