Icelandic President Gudni Johannesson describes catastrophe as a ‘black day’ for nation, although no fatalities reported.
A volcano has erupted in Iceland, sending molten lava flows to the outskirts of a small fishing city and engulfing houses.
At the very least three homes had been set alight on Sunday as lava reached the sting of the port of Grindavik, in response to stay photographs broadcast on public tv.
There have been no studies of deaths or accidents and airline flights weren’t affected.
Iceland’s President Gudni Johannesson described the catastrophe as a “black day” for his nation.
“No lives are in peril, though infrastructure could also be underneath menace,” Johannesson stated on the social media website X.
The eruption occurred simply earlier than 8am native time (8:00 GMT) after native authorities evacuated the 4,000-strong inhabitants of the city following a sequence of small earthquakes, the Icelandic Meteorological Workplace stated.
A crack that opened within the floor about 450 metres (500 yards) from Grindavik on Sunday morning had was a fissure measuring about 900 metres (984 yards) lengthy as of 6.45pm, the Meteorological Workplace stated.
A second fissure opened at about noon on the sting of city, measuring about 100 metres (109 yards) by night, in response to the workplace.
It’s the second time the volcano situated southwest of the capital Reykjavik has erupted in lower than a month and the North Atlantic nation’s fifth volcanic eruption in lower than three years.
Grindavik was evacuated in November after giant cracks opened within the earth upfront of an eruption on December 18.
Earlier than Sunday’s eruption, emergency staff had been constructing defensive partitions across the city, which residents had returned to on December 22, however had not accomplished work on the limitations.
Native resident Sveinn Ari Gudjonsson described the catastrophe as “tragic” for the close-knit group, which he likened to a household.
“It’s unreal, it’s like watching a movie,” Gudjonsson, 55, informed the AFP information company.
Iceland, which is house to about 370,000 folks and situated some 1,300km (807 miles) northwest of the UK, is house to greater than 30 lively volcanoes, making the north European island a main vacation spot for volcano tourism.