well a volcano in southwest iceland has
erupted
releasing streams of lava from under the
earth's surface
it follows thousands of small
earthquakes in the area over recent
weeks
the fissure erupted 30 kilometers from
the capital reykjavik
and is more than 500 meters long this is
the first eruption in the area in
centuries deny howard
reports this is what icelanders have
been waiting for for weeks now
40 kilometers south of the capital
reykjavik lava began spewing from the
ground on friday evening
and a no-fly zone has been established
in the area
iceland sits between two tectonic plates
so eruptions aren't uncommon
but this is the first in field in 900
years
normally there are around 1 000 tremors
a year but there have been more than 50
000 in the last three weeks the highest
number since digital recordings began
in 1991. in 2010
the eruption of another volcano ejected
a column of ash
nine kilometers into the air that
brought flights to a halt across europe
iceland's meteorological office says the
lava from this eruption
will emerge more slowly and not create
such disruption
the small village of grinderwick is just
a few kilometers away
for weeks now they have been affected by
near constant earthquakes
and tremors warning of the upcoming
eruptions
shook well outside and when i came in
with the luggage the kitchen island was
on its side
and various things had come out of the
cupboards we thought we'd prepared
police have told residents to close
their windows and stay indoors
due to the risk of gas pollution carried
by the wind and after 900 years of
volcanic inactivity
people in the area have been flooding
social media with photos and videos of
this formidable site
danai howard bbc news