A volcano in Iceland that has been dormant for the last 6,000 years finally erupted on Friday night (March 19).
The Fagradals Mountain volcano, located in southwest Iceland, could be seen spewing bright lava and illuminating the dark night sky, CBS News reports. The glow from the molten lava could reportedly be seen up to 20 miles away in Iceland's capital of Reykjavík.
The eruption comes after weeks of earthquakes in the area, with the Met Office reporting roughly 50,000 small earthquakes, with dozens of them being a magnitude 4 or stronger, occurring in the last three weeks.
Despite being located near the most heavily populated area of the country, the Department of Emergency Management has said it doesn't anticipate any evacuations, unless levels of volcanic gases rise significantly.
The eruption also marks the first that the Reykjanes Peninsula - where the volcano is located - has experienced in 781 years.
As reported by The Independent, the eruption kicked off at approximately 08:45PM on Friday in the Geldinga Valley.
Local resident Solny Palsdottir - whose house is the closest to the site of the eruption at four kilometers away in the coastal town of Grindavik - told the Associated Press that she and her husband were watching TV when her teenage son pointed out the red glow from the eruption in the distance.
Palsdottir added that she is happy that the earthquakes and tremors have ended.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office said on Saturday (March 20) that the "minor" eruption is now easing, and there are no signs of ash or dust that will disrupt air travel.
Additionally, the Met Office has said in a statement: "There is no indication of production of ash and tephra, and there is no imminent hazard for aviation."
Back in 2010, the eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano, resulted in ash and dust clouds being sent into the atmosphere, causing over 100,000 flights to be grounded and leaving millions of passengers in Europe and North America stranded.
The Independent adds that Iceland averages one eruption every four to five years, with the last eruption occurring at Holuhraun back in 2014.
That seismic event caused a lava-flow the size of Manhattan to spread over the interior highland region.
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