Angry Volcano in Iceland Just Threw Up an Apocalyptic 150-Foot Tidal Wave of Molten Lava

"A daunting period of upheaval has begun."

Icy Hot

A gigantic volcanic eruption has warranted spectacular, terrifying videos alongside evacuations of nearby towns and tourist attractions in Iceland — and not, unfortunately, for the first time.

As the New York Times reports, this was the fifth eruption at the Sundhnjukar crater row that sits atop the country's southwestern Reykjanes Peninsula since December. The last one that took place in March had just finished leaking magma three weeks prior.

With this most recent spectacle, plumes of lava shot an estimated 150 to 160 feet into the air, and video footage put on display just how colossal and powerful this volcanic fountain truly was. The fissure that emitted the magma, meanwhile, has grown to more than two miles long, per the Icelandic Meteorological Office.

Seismic Era

The nearby fishing town of Grindavik also had to be evacuated for a fifth time, Icelandic government spokesperson Helga Arnadottir confirmed to the NYT, and this one "went as smoothly as the ones before."

Iceland's famous Blue Lagoon hot spring was also evacuated, as was the country's Svartsengi power plant, the Iceland Monitor reports. Remote pressure readings seemed to confirm that magma had entered the plant's system.

The NYT reported back in January that the region surrounding Sundhnjukar was likely to experience even more volcanic unrest as seismometer readings indicated higher chances of earthquakes than normal.

"A daunting period of upheaval has begun on the Reykjanes Peninsula," Iceland's president, Gudni Johannesson, said in a televised press conference at the time. "This new chapter....will last for a long time, [and] a large, populated area is at stake."

Fewer than six months later, it's clear that those seismic predictions were correct, and now, folks in Grindavik and the area surrounding the volcanic hill and crater in question are being forced to live with the consequences.

"What we all hoped would not happen," Johannesson said back in January, "has come to pass."

More on volcanoes: Scientists Find Magnetic Anomaly in Lake Over Dormant Volcano