Icelandic authorities declared a state of emergency on Monday night due to the volcano eruption near the city of Grindavik (Reykjanes Peninsula), on the southwest coast of the island.

The eruption was preceded by a series of earthquakes in the Sundhnjúka craterso the entire area has been evacuated, as reported by the Icelandic newspaper ‘Fréttabladid’.

The estimated length of the fissure is about 3.5 kilometers, considerably greater than that of previous eruptions, and the speed of the lava flow is between 100 and 200 cubic meters per second, which is also a notable increase compared to other eruptions that have occurred on the peninsula in recent years.

According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the eruption is subsiding, while the Icelandic authorities have created a safety zone in the affected area, which was already evacuated weeks ago.

In the live images you can see large lava fountains and the IOM notes that “the potency of the eruption has decreased over time as has seismicity and deformation.”

The president of Iceland, Guðni Jóhannesson, wrote in a message on the social network

“Now we wait to see what the forces of nature have in store for us. We are repaired and remain vigilant,” he indicated.