Huge volcanic eruption in Iceland - 21st February 2024

In Iceland, there was another volcano eruption. It's the third time since December.

The volcano eruption was near Grindavik town. Nobody was there. The people left the town at the first eruption. Then, hot lava hit houses. This time, it hit a water pipe.

Fannar Jonasson is the mayor of Grindavik.

Fannar Jónasson: And it's no less bad that it's so close to the hot water pipe. We don't know what the consequences might be, but it's obviously a very serious matter. But otherwise, we're pleased that Grindavík's infrastructure and buildings are not at risk, as things stand."

Iceland has 30 active volcanoes. These can be dangerous. This volcano is a 'fissure volcano'. It means the lava comes down one tunnel. It isn't like the volcano eruption in 2010. Then, the sky turned grey. Thousands of aeroplanes had to stop flying.

Jack's a visitor from Canada. The eruption was exciting for him.

Jack: "I woke up to the siren going off, and, and we packed our stuff up and went out in the parking lot and there's the, there's the volcano going. It was awesome. It was amazing. Just something once in a lifetime, being able to see it."

Reporter: "But, but you were very close to it?" "Yeah, we were like a kilometre maybe."

Some local people felt relieved. Like 3,800 others, Solny Palsdottir had to leave. But they waited a long time for this event.

Sólný Pálsdóttir: "It's hard to explain. It's such a relief when it happens. We mustn't forget that we've been in this scenario for four years and that we've been living with these tremors and this tension for so many years.

Experts are worried. This might be the start of a dangerous time for volcanoes. People from Grindavik are worried too. They might never get home.