After weeks of waiting: Large fissure as Iceland volcano erupts

After spending more than a month rumbling, a volcano in Iceland has finally erupted overnight on the Reykjanes peninsula.

The eruptive event occurred north-east of Grindavík, where residents had previously been evacuated in November after a series of earthquakes were recorded. These were the first signs of an imminent eruption, and abruptly restarted Monday.

Late Tuesday evening, a fissure opened in the earth. Stretching for more than a hundred metres, the magma which created thousands of earthquakes over the last month shot into the skies of south-west Iceland.

After the first eruption at 10:17 pm local time, the eruptive fissure widened to a length of around 3 km within just one hour, with between 100 to 200 cubic metres of lava flowing per second.

While the initial eruption took place around 4 km north-east of Grindavík, local authorities say that seismic activity is moving in the direction of the town.

Thanks to early evacuations, and limited access to the public, there are no injuries reported from the event.

Unlike the infamous 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, which closed large pockets of European airspace, disruption from Fagradalsfjall will be minimal.

The Eyjafjallajökull eruption took place beneath glacial ice, which then melted and flooded the volcano, creating an explosive event.

For now, Grindavik and the famous Blue Lagoon appear to be safe from harm.