Iceland volcano is ejecting enough lava to fill olympic swimming pool in 20 seconds

A volcano in Iceland erupted on Tuesday (Dec 19) sending molten lava in the sky. The eruption in southwest Iceland took place after the region rumbled due to earthquakes for weeks. The full force of the eruption may have got an outlet and the volcano may be at a comparably lower degree of volcanic activity, but it still packs quite a punch and venturing anywhere near it may be extremely dangerous

An Oxford University expert has confirmed this. David Pyle, an Earth Science professor at the university has said that the volcanic eruption is still belching out enough lava to fill an olympic-sized swimming pool in mere 20 seconds.

"The eruption rate is likely to be in the region of a few hundred cubic metres of lava per second — enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool in about 20 seconds," said Pyle as quoted by Live Science.

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"The length of the fissure may be an indication of how much magma had been able to accumulate in the crust over the past few weeks."

Watch | Iceland volcano erupts after weeks of quake activity

The eruption took place just three kilometres from Grindvik, a fishing port in Iceland which has now been evacuated. The eruption began on Monday at 2217 GMT, said Icelandic Meteorological Office. The Svartsengi geothermal plant is located just two kilometres away from the location of the eruption so the scientists as wellas civic authorities in Iceland were keeping a close watch on the volcanic activity.

Scientists had warned for weeks about the eventual eruption and authorities built reinforcements around the power plant for its protection. The power plant supplies electricity to 30,000 people.

Also Read | Lava flows from two-mile crack as Iceland volcano erupts following weeks of anticipation

"We hope for the best but it is clear this is a considerable eruption," Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir wrote on Facebook.

According to estimates by Iceland's meteorological office, the volcanic eruption has led to opening of a fissure that is about four kilometres in length (2.5 miles)

By 3 am local time, the met office said that the eruption had stabilised and that "the activity is decreasing". There was no immediate estimate to predict for how long the volcanic activity would last.

(With inputs from agencies)