A volcano in southwest Iceland that erupted in late March has a new lava-splitting fissure that forced the evacuation of hundreds of hikers on Monday. The volcano, located about 20 miles from the Icelandic capital Reykjavík, has caused tens of thousands of earthquakes in the past three weeks. Tourists have flocked to the fire scene, with an estimated 30,000 visitors since the volcano reactivated. The new fissure that was seen on Monday about 550 meters long, but does not pose any immediate threat to life, as it is far from the hiking trails, the Icelandic emergency management department said. However, the whole area was evacuated. Geophysicist Magnus Gudmundsson told the AP that volcano activity could be entering a second stage and heading north. “We now see less lava coming from the two original craters,” he said. “This could be the beginning of the second stage.”
Read it on AP