Volcanic eruption has started near Litli-Hrútur

Just now, a fresh volcanic eruption has begun on the Reykjanes peninsula.

Only a week ago, mbl.is was the first to report a noticeable uplift across various locations on the peninsula.

The following day, on July 4th, a series of earthquakes rattled the area. Since then, the number of tremors has escalated into the thousands, many surpassing a 4 on the Richter scale, with a few exceeding a magnitude of 5. Thankfully, no substantial structural damage has been reported yet.

Magma accumulating

"Magma is likely accumulating near the sites of last year's eruption in Meradalir, and the one in Fagradalsfjall in 2021. The epicenter of the seismic activity is beneath Fagradalsfjall, the same area where the previous eruption occurred," Benedikt Gunnar Ófeigsson, a geophysicist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told mbl.is just a week prior.

mbl.is/Sonja