A new fault spits out a narrow stream of lava several hundred meters away, rushing down to a nearby valley.
On Monday, the volcanic eruption that has been going on for more than two weeks in Iceland, about forty kilometers from the capital Reykjavik, has further extended.
The new fissure, about 150 to 200 m long, is located about 700 m northeast of the first focus of the eruption, located in the Geldingadalir valley, on the outskirts of Mount Fagradalsfjall, according to the last point of the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO).
The crack opened around noon (2 p.m. in France), along with a much smaller one, and molten lava this time is flowing to another small nearby valley named Merardalir, the body said in a report. communicated.
New footage from Icelandic Civil Protection showed a long, narrow orange stream of magma tumbling down through the hills from the new eruptive fault, already several hundred meters away.
Myndir frá nýjum gossprungum.
Miðja þeirra um 700m NA við eldgígana í Geldingadölum.
Sprungurnar eru samtals um 100–200m langar.
Hraunið er þunnfljótandi, rennur í langri og mjórri hrauná austur í Merardali, hraunbreiða þegar farin að myndast.
Ljósm.
Björn Oddss.
@almannavarnir pic.twitter.com/c6njjMbljL
- Icelandic Meteorological Office - IMO (@Vedurstofan) April 5, 2021
"Initially (the lava) spun at almost 10 m per second", mainly due to the steep slope, "but it has slowed down considerably now", explained vulcanologist Thorvaldur Thórdarson.
This new phase of the eruption proves that the underground magma "was in overpressure because it had the capacity to open new cracks", he underlined.
"It is not a surprise but it is an interesting development", according to the expert.
Access to the site, where many visitors have flocked since the eruption began on March 19, has been closed and evacuated, authorities said.
More than 36,000 visitors
Icelandic vulcanologists, who initially predicted a short-lived eruption, now expect several weeks or even much longer.
“My feeling is that I don't see any sign of this stopping,” Thórdarson commented.
"We're going to see that for a while," said the vulcanologist, without daring to give a more precise duration.
The last eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, that region of southwest Iceland where the eruption occurs, dates back almost 800 years and spanned three decades with several eruptive episodes from 1210 to 1240. The site has become the attraction of the moment in Iceland: at the last check-in on Sunday, 36,293 people had visited the foot of two small craters calmly spilling lava - which now covers 30 ha - since the installation of a counter by the Icelandic Tourist Board on March 24.
VIDEO.
Volcano erupts for the first time in 800 years, near Reykjavik in Iceland
Viral videos of the eruption have been around the world in recent weeks, including one showing a handful of Icelanders playing volleyball in front of the volcano as if nothing had happened.
The eruption site is only a few kilometers from the tourist site of the warm, turquoise waters of the "Blue Lagoon", and about ten kilometers from the nearest town, the small fishing port of Grindavik - but without giving rise to fear of damage.
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The lava eruption is much more bucolic than the so-called “explosive” eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, which had paralyzed air traffic in Europe for weeks.
In Iceland, the most active volcanic area in Europe, a volcanic eruption occurs on average every four to five years.
The last dated back to 2014-2015 in an uninhabited area in the center of the North Atlantic island.
