A VOLCANO has erupted in south west Iceland after several weeks of intense earthquake activity.
The eruption started at 22:17 local time in the Reykjanes peninsula, north of the fishing town of Grindavik where 4000 people were earlier evacuated.
The region around the capital Reykjavik has been experiencing an increase in earthquake activity since late October.
An expert has said it will not bring the same level of disruption as an incident in 2010 which halted European air travel.
The Met Office said that the eruption was located about 4km (2.5 miles) north-east of Grindavik and the seismic activity was moving towards the town.
The eruption turned the sky orange and prompted the civil defence to be put on high alert.
Grainy webcam video showed the moment of the eruption as a flash of light illuminating the sky.
As the eruption spread, magma, or semi-molten rock, could be seen spewing along the ridge of a hill.
Vidir Reynisson, head of Iceland’s civil protection and emergency management, told the Icelandic public broadcaster RUV: “The magma flow seems to be at least a hundred cubic meters per second, maybe more.
“So this would be considered a big eruption in this area at least.”
In November, police evacuated the town of Grindavik – a town of 3400 - after strong seismic activity in the area damaged homes and raised fears of an imminent eruption.
Iceland sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic and averages an eruption every four to five years.
Iceland’s foreign minister Bjarne Benediktsson said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that there are “no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland and international flight corridors remain open”.
A coast guard helicopter will attempt to confirm the exact location — and size — of the eruption.
