Volcanic eruption begins in Iceland

A volcanic eruption has started in Reykjanes peninsula, the fourth in three years.

A strong earthquake swarm began on the Reykjanes peninsula around 21 pm this evening. The swarm is still in full motion and is confined to the dike that lies north of Grindavík.

Unverified data indicate that the largest earthquake in the series was of magnitude 4.2. It hit at 21:03.

Here below it is possible to see live footage from the mbl.is webcams on location.

Update 22:46

A volcanic eruption has begun on the Reykjanes peninsula and Þorvald Þórðarson, a volcanologist, tells us that at first glance it is the worst-case scenario. The eruption appears to be at Hagafell, above Grindavík.

"This is the worst place, it looks like it. West of the pasture and up there, and then probably up through the Sundhnúkar crater row, which are just north of it. There are super-high plumes of magma. Now it's a total guess, but the highest plumes are probably 150 metres. This means that the lava is flowing very quickly from the crater," he says, adding, "

"This may be close to the worst case imaginable. Unfortunately."