Volcano erupts in southwestern Iceland, send lava flowing toward nearby settlement

LONDON (AP) — A volcano has erupted in southwestern Iceland, sending semi-molten rock spewing toward a nearby settlement for the second time in less than a month.

The eruption Sunday morning came after a swarm of earthquakes near the town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. The community was evacuated overnight, Iceland’s RUV television reported.

“Lava is flowing a few hundred meters north of the town, this is 400 to 500 meters,’' Kristín Jónsdóttir from the Icelandic Meteorological Office told Iceland’s RUV television. ”Lava flows towards Grindavik.”

Residents of Grindavik were previously evacuated from their homes in November and had to stay away from the town for six weeks following a series of earthquakes and an eventual volcanic eruption. They were allowed to return on Dec. 22.

Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages an eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed huge clouds of ash into the atmosphere and led to widespread airspace closures over Europe.