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11h ago

Sundhnúkur Volcano Opens Kilometre-Long Fissure, Prompting Maximum Alert and Evacuations

Seismic activity opened a nearly one-kilometre fissure at the Sundhnúkur crater row, prompting the civil protection agency to issue its highest alert.

© Civil Protection Department of the National Police Commissioner
Handout picture released on July 16, 2025 by the Public Defense Department of the State Police Commissioner in Iceland shows lava and smoke erupting from a volcano near Grindavik on the Icelandic peninsula of Reykjanes. A volcano erupted on Wednesday in Iceland's Reykjanes peninsula in the southwest, weather authorities said, the ninth eruption to hit the region since the end of 2023. Broadcaster RUV reported that the nearby fishing village Grindavik had been evacuated, as had the Blue Lagoon, Iceland's famed tourist spot.
Iceland Volcano Eruption

Overview

  • The eruption began at 03:54 UTC on July 16, opening a 700–1,000 metre crack southeast of Litla-Skógfell on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
  • Police and the Civil Protection Agency evacuated Grindavík, the Blue Lagoon spa resort and surrounding areas under a level 5 civil protection alert.
  • Lava is flowing southeast away from infrastructure with no reported threats to roads, geothermal plants or operations at Keflavík airport.
  • Volcanic gas plumes are drifting northwest under southeasterly winds, prompting air quality warnings for Reykjanesbær, Vogar, Sandgerði and Garð.
  • An intense seismic swarm of over 300 earthquakes since midnight preceded the fissure, reinforcing experts’ view that Reykjanes has entered a prolonged cycle of fissure eruptions.