The lava flow in the fishing town of Grindavik, Iceland, started to slow down on Monday. Reykjanes Peninsula saw a volcanic eruption on Sunday morning. The lava from this volcano erupted and spread into Grindavik, which is a fishing town in Iceland.

No casualties were reported, but the houses were damaged and destroyed as a result of the flowing lava. The fishing town was evacuated in time.

Flights, both domestic and international, were not disturbed or delayed due to the eruption. Keflavik Airport, the nearest to the site of the eruption, remained as busy as before.

The frequent eruption period on the Reykjanes Peninsula has started, which is named as ‘The New Reykjanes Fires’. These eruptions can continue for “several decades or several centuries” and can be as often as “every few months” to “once in a year”, as explained by a volcanologist, Evgenia Ilyinskaya.

This place has already seen a number of volcanic eruptions, the latest one being in December. The government and citizens have built some defenses to avoid further damage due to lava eruptions.

According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), some of these defenses were helpful in containing the lava this time, but some of them were breached, resulting in the destruction of buildings and the burning of houses.

A victim, who left her house without taking anything except some clothes and a few essential items, while giving her statement to a news website, said, “Seeing your home burn down on live television is something you cannot easily handle.”

Iceland’s alert signal, which warns people about the danger to their lives, property, or environment, has been set to ’emergency’.

President Gudni Johannesson encouraged people to help the affected families and said, “We should stand together for those who cannot be in their homes.”

Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir gave hope to his people by saying, “The day was a black day for all of Iceland but the sun will rise again. We will deal with the shock and whatever comes next together. Our prayers are with you.” There are a total of 33 active volcanoes in Iceland.

The eruption that took place on Sunday in Reykjanes is the fifth one to take place since 2021.