New eruption fissure opened up at Grindavík

A new eruption fissure has opened up at Grindavík. The edge of the fissure is about 50-100 meters from the town.

According to the Met Office, the fault line is about 150 meters long and could extend further.

The closeness of the new fissure to the town can be seen on mbl.is's webcams.

In an announcement on the website of the Icelandic Met Office, it says that deformation measurements strongly indicate that cracks in Grindavík have been magnified by the earthquakes this morning. Therefore, it can be assumed that more cracks have opened up and perhaps new ones will form.

“It seems to me that a hole in the defensive wall, which is under construction above Grindavík town center – that lava is starting to flow through the gap.”

This is what Úlfar Lúðvíksson, Chief of Police in Suðurnes, told mbl.is’s journalist in the operational police department in Reykjanes.

No contractors are in Grindavík, but a protective park around the power plant is being closed.