After weeks of earthquakes pummeling Iceland’s southwestern Reykjanes peninsula‚ a volcano has erupted near the village of Grindavík. According to Iceland Monitor‚ it’s the fourth volcanic eruption on the peninsula in three years. “The village‚ housing around 4‚000 people‚ has been evacuated. Officials are closely monitoring the Blue Lagoon‚ along with its geothermal plant near Grindavik‚ which serves as the primary provider of electricity and water to 30‚000 residents‚” Rawsalerts writes. Watch the moment the volcano erupts: #UPDATE: Here is the Moment when the volcano erupts near Grindavík‚ Iceland pic.twitter.com/1q7df8FXMt — R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) December 18‚ 2023 Live footage on YouTube below: From Iceland Monitor: 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.” WATCH: #Iceland #Grindavik from the family in #Hafnarfjördur pic.twitter.com/LmwxQrzSvZ — Caroline Keep (@Ka81) December 18‚ 2023 The volcano just erupted in Iceland pic.twitter.com/NtdpZXHPRv — . (@l0rdstanley) December 18‚ 2023 Video from helicopter above fissure just broadcast in live news programme #Iceland #volcano pic.twitter.com/3SrH2mN3JK — Duncan (@shaksper) December 18‚ 2023 HAPPENING NOW – Volcano eruption near Hagafell — not far from Blue Lagoon and Grindavík in Iceland pic.twitter.com/Cn95MGN6cW — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) December 18‚ 2023 Per Sky News: A coastguard helicopter will be in the air shortly to confirm the exact location and size of the eruption‚ the Met Office said. The international airport in Reykjavik‚ Iceland’s capital‚ which is located nearby‚ remained open. “At the moment‚ there are no disruptions to arrivals or departures at Keflavík Airport‚” it said on its website. The Reykjanes peninsula in recent years saw several eruptions in unpopulated areas‚ but the current outbreak was believed to pose an immediate risk to the town‚ authorities have said. Reykjanes is a volcanic and seismic hot-spot southwest of the capital Reykjavik. In March 2021‚ lava fountains erupted spectacularly from a 500-750-metre-long (1‚640-2‚460-foot-long) fissure in the ground in the Fagradalsfjall volcanic system.