At about 11 pm on November 20th, a volcano near the capital of Iceland erupted, making this almost the seventh time a situation like this has occurred within the last year. The fissure formed in the ground and grew to be a couple miles long. 

Originally the eruption was quite unexpected. Later on, magma began spewing from the fissure. 

These eruptions are common occurrences on the Reykjanes peninsula, and they are formally called fissure eruptions.  

Compared to previous eruptions that occurred in August and earlier months this eruption seemed much smaller and less problematic, many officials stating that the magma did not disrupt Grindavík or any air space surrounding it.  

“Grindavík is not in danger as it looks and it is unlikely that this crack will get any longer, although nothing can be ruled out,” Magnús Tumi Guðmundsson, a professor of geophysics who flew over the scene with the Civil Protection agency to monitor the event, told the national RUV broadcaster(The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service).

It was reported that about 50 houses had to be evacuated and a local spa known as the Blue lagoon had to be closed as a safety precaution. Previous eruptions have had worse impacts on the towns close to them.

This is speculated to be the seventh eruption in the area in the last year, and that some of the towns close to the area have long been deserted or evacuated due to these previous incidents. 

“The eruption is in the same place as the last one in August this year. The town of Grindavík is not threatened by lava flow,” Snorri Valsson, a spokesperson for the Icelandic Tourist Board, told CNN on Thursday, November 21st.

This area is predicted to continuously experience many situations similar to this one for many more years into the future.