Hundreds Flee Iceland Volcano

Hundreds of Icelanders have been evacuated from their homes after a volcanic eruption partially melted a glacier and sparked fears of flooding.

The eruption spewed black smoke and white steam into the air, rising from a crater 200 metres under the ice.

The Icelandic Civil Defence Authority ordered around 700 people to evacuate as a nearby river rose by 84 centimetres.

A local evacuation centre provided residents with food, mattresses and blankets.

Icelandic scientists had measured increased seismic activity near the glacier about two hours before the volcano began to erupt.

The eruption at the Eyjafjallajokull glacier was close to the site of another eruption which started last month and only died down last week.

The volcano, situated beneath Iceland’s fifth largest glacier, has erupted five times since Iceland was settled in the ninth century.

The country sits on a volcanic hotspot in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and has relatively frequent eruptions, although most occur in sparsely populated areas.

Before March, the last eruption took place in 2004.

Foto: NTDTV