Iceland volcano erupts weeks after earthquakes shake southwest coast
ABC News
A volcano in Iceland has erupted, the country's meteorological office said late Monday local time.
A volcano has erupted in Iceland, the country's meteorological office said late Monday local time -- weeks after earthquakes rumbled the southwestern coast.
"An eruption has started north of Grindavík," the Icelandic Met Office said in an alert on its website. "It can be seen on webcams and seems to be located close to Hagafell, about 3 km [about 1.8 miles] north of Grindavík."
An "earthquake swarm" started around 9 p.m. local time and the eruption began at 10:17 p.m., the office said.
Iceland's Meteorological Office confirmed early Tuesday morning local time that the eruption was located on "the dyke intrusion that formed in November." The eruption fissure, as the Met Office called it, began expanding southward, with the southern end of it near Sundhnúkur.
It estimated the lava discharge from the fissure to be "hundreds of cubic metres per second," adding that the biggest lava fountains were on the northern end. The lava was spreading laterally, the office said.
