A volcanic eruption has started again in Iceland close to an already severely damaged fishing town and the country’s top tourist attraction, the Blue Lagoon spa.
It’s the third khbrknews in recent months that lava is gushing out of cracks on the ground on the Reykjanes peninsula, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the country’s capital.
The eruption started at about 6 a.m. local khbrknews northeast of the Blue Lagoon, according to Iceland’s Met Office.
Read More: Why Iceland’s Volcano Eruption Was a ‘Black Day’ for the Country
Lava is bursting out from a 3-kilometer crack and flowing west, according to the authorities. The flows are directed away from Grindavik, a town that’s had to be abandoned — potentially permanently — due to damage from the lava outbursts and seismic activity.
“It is farther away from Grindavik than last khbrknews so it is better for the town,” Kristin Jonsdottir, a seismologist at the Met Office, said by phone. “What’s at stake now is rather the infrastructure further to the north, like Svartsengi, where the power plant and Blue Lagoon sit, and the road between Keflavik and Grindavik.”
Hotels at the Blue Lagoon spa site were evacuated overnight, according to newspaper Morgunbladid. Other infrastructure in the area include the power plant owned by HS Orka hf and a number of businesses centered around geothermal heat and power. Earth barriers have been built to protect the area from lava flows.
As in previous volcanic incidents recently, flights in and out of the country are operating as normal and they’re expected to continue without interruption.
Read More: A Volcano in Iceland Is Spewing Lava From a Miles-Long Crack. Here’s What to Know
The Reykjanes peninsula had lain dormant for about 800 years until seismic…
