A volcano in Iceland is now erupting after weeks of earthquakes rocking the region, according to a statement released by the Iceland Met Office on Monday (Dec. 18).
The country has been bracing itself for an imminent volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula for weeks. Grindavík, a small fishing town in the southwest corner of the island with a population of around 2,800 people, had previously been evacuated in November after a sinkhole measuring 3.2 feet (1 meter) deep appeared in the town.
Seismic activity began increasing in the area around the Fagradalsfjall volcano on Oct. 25, when more than 1,000 earthquakes north of Grindavík occurred in the space of just hours. Two strong earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 3.9 and 4.5, hit at a depth of around 3 miles (5 kilometers). Over the following two weeks, seismic activity continued, with hundreds of earthquakes and uplifts recorded each day, indicating that magma was accumulating beneath the ground.
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