Iceland Volcano Maps Show Huge Fissure, Evacuation Zone After Eruption

After months of uncertainty, a sudden volcanic eruption overnight in Iceland saw jets of lava shoot into the air as a massive fissure opened in the earth.

The authorities have swung into action, with residents issued with warnings and safety advice as evacuation zones remain in place, while some flights have been diverted. Various agencies have published maps with crucial information and the latest updates.

Volcano watchers, residents and scientists had been holding their breath since the end of October, when a barrage of earthquakes rocked the Reykjanes peninsula, about 24 miles southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, amid intense seismic activity. The country braced for a significant eruption, as experts monitored the magma bubbling away beneath the ground's surface.

Huge cracks split the ground and the town of Grindavík, which some 4,000 people call home, was evacuated. Authorities were even forced to build protective walls around Svartsengi's geothermal power plant to protect it from possible lava flows.

Late on Monday night, the pressure finally came to a head with a huge fissure breaking open to spew lava from the depths.

A map shared by the Iceland Monitor—an English-language news website run by the Icelandic daily newspaper Morgunblaðið—shows the evacuation zone issued for the town of Grindavík. The map, issued by the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management, appears to have been first circulated back in 2020, but is still being cited by the Iceland Monitor as the most up-to-date plan.

Shaded areas show key zones and various escape routes from the town are marked out. Residents were told that evacuation orders would be sent to them from the emergency line (112) and a string of instructions was given about how they should leave their homes, such as making sure windows were closed and the electricity was shut off.

Homeowners were also told they needed to place a special sticker in a prominent place to indicate the house had been evacuated.

The Icelandic Met Office shared stunning photos of the eruption, which began at 10:17 p.m., on social media site X (formerly called Twitter).

The agency also shared a map of the country, designed for the aviation industry, showing the status of Iceland's many volcanos. The volcano in the Reykjanes peninsula was colored orange on Monday, meaning: "Volcano is exhibiting heightened unrest with increased likelihood of eruption or, Volcanic eruption is underway with no or minor ash emission."

The map was created "to inform the aviation sector about a volcano's status... especially in regard to ash-plume information and likely outcomes," the Met Office added.

Newsweek has reached out by email to the Icelandic Met Office for further information and comment.

Another map issued by the Icelandic Met Office on Monday showed the wave of earthquakes rocking the area. "A volcanic fissure eruption started yesterday evening at 22:17 (December 18th) on Sundhnúkagígaröðin East of Mt. Sýlingarfell," the agency noted.

"The event began with a powerful seismic swarm at 21:00 yesterday evening resulting in an eruption at 22:17. Large lava fountains were observed in the beginning of the eruption and intense seismicity over the dike. The power of the eruption has decreased with time as well as the seismicity and deformation."

The RÚV, Iceland's national broadcasting company, shared a graphic on X showing the full extent of the fissure:

The sudden eruption had an immediate impact on planes flying across airspace in the region.

An aviation news account on X shared a graphic from a real-time air-traffic tracker called flightradar24, which showed a plane in a holding pattern. The account, called To Fly, To Travel explained: "After a prolonged period of earthquakes, Iceland's volcano in Grindavik has erupted. Lava flows have been reported in the area, causing widespread disruption. At present, flights seem to be holding outside of Keflavik Airport."

Later Flightradar24 said some planes were being released from their holds and allowed to continue their journeys:

Some 46 volcanos are in a continuous eruptive state worldwide, and 19 of them exhibited a change in activity or alert level last month.

One of those volcanoes was Kīlauea in Hawaii. The extremely active volcano has erupted regularly since 1983 and has also seen a renewed burst of activity recently.