A volcano erupted in southwestern Iceland for the second time in a few weeks on Sunday, sending lava spewing toward a nearby town.
The eruption, which occurred just before 8 a.m. UTC (2 a.m. ET) on Sunday, came after a series of earthquakes near the town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said.
The town was evacuated on Saturday night as fears rose that an eruption was imminent.
The meteorological office has published a map of the area, with a red line marking the approximate location of Sunday's eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula.
The office has also published an updated hazard assessment map that places Grindavik in a zone facing the highest risk.
Defensive walls had been placed around the volcano in hopes of directing magma away from Grindavik, but the barriers built north of the town have been breached and lava is on the move toward the settlement, the IMO said.
"According to the first images from the coast guard's surveillance flight, a crack has opened on both sides of the defenses that have begun to be built north of Grindavík," the IMO said in a statement.
"Judging by the pictures, lava is now flowing towards Grindavik. Based on measurements from the coast guard's helicopter, the perimeter is now about 450 meters (1,500 feet) from the northernmost houses in the town."
The IMO also published a map showing seismic activity in the area between 2:30 and 6:30 a.m., with the most recent tremors marked in red.
Officials said flights to and from Keflavik Airport, Iceland's international air traffic hub, have not been affected by the eruption, Iceland's RUV television reported.
Grindavik's 4,000 residents were previously evacuated from their homes in November after strong seismic activity damaged homes and raised fears that an eruption was imminent. The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, one of Iceland's most popular tourist spots, was also temporarily closed.
A volcano erupted about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from Grindavik on December 18, but the town was spared when lava ultimately flowed away from it. Residents were allowed to return to their homes on December 22.
Iceland lies on a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic and averages an eruption every five years, but that frequency has increased to about one every 12 months since 2021.
The most significant in recent years was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which caused a massive cloud of ash to spread over Europe causing severe disruption to air travel.
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