A tourist hotspot in Iceland was forced to evacuate after a nearby volcano erupted on Wednesday morning. Guests at the iconic Blue Lagoon spa in the Reykjanes Peninsula and tourists staying at a campsite in the nearby town of Grindavik had to flee the area after an evacuation warning was issued at around 1 a.m. local time. Around 200 people were staying at the spa at the time of the eruption of the Sundhnúkur volcano and were safely checked in to other hotels. The Blue Lagoon is a top draw with American and other overseas visitors, but there was no breakdown of the nationalities involved in the evacuation. The eruption has not caused any damage to buildings in the area, but residents in the towns of Vogar and Reykjanesbaer were told to keep their windows shut to avoid a gas pollution cloud from the volcano, state media reports. Magma from the eruption opened up a fissure around 1.2 miles wide, while molten lava flows southeast from the fissure. The town of Grindavik has been repeatedly affected by volcanic activity since November 2023, when a volcano in the area reactivated after lying dormant for around 800 years.
🌋 New eruption in Iceland 🌋
An eruption began at the Sundhnúk crater range on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula at 03:54, making it the 9th in the area since 2021. The fissure is nearly 2 km long but poses no immediate threat to infrastructure.pic.twitter.com/7yC9iLtNQ1
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) July 16, 2025