Iceland volcano eruption causes hundreds to flee

An Icelandic volcano has erupted following a week of small earthquakes, spewing lava and ash into the air and forcing hundreds to flee yesterday, but causing no casualties.

Smoke could be seen rising from behind Eyjafjallajoekull glacier and volcanic ash filled the sky after the eruption that began around midnight on Saturday and which was foretold by a week of localised earthquakes.

It occurred in a remotely populated area about 125 kilometres east of Iceland's capital Reykjavik and caused 600 people to flee their homes.

The eruption brought to a halt all flights into and out of the Nordic island nation, but they resumed with serious delays mid-day yesterday, while all domestic traffic remained grounded.

The risk of floods posed by melting glacial ice prompted the authorities to declare a state of emergency and to immediately evacuate the area.

It was the first volcanic eruption in Iceland since 2004, and the first in the vicinty of Eyjafjallajoekull, in the south of the island, since 1823.

"We did not have time to be afraid and everyone was so calm and stoical," farmer Dorhildur Bjarnadottir, 51, said in Hvolsvoellur, a small town of 800 near the glacier where some of the evacuees took refuge.

"The worst part in all of this is to leave our animals behind at home," her husband added.

Significant floods were avoided because the fissure eruption occurred between two large glaciers, Eyjafjallajoekull and Myrdalsjoekull, said Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a professor of geophysics and civil protection adviser.

"We are extremely lucky that the eruption did not occur underneath the glacier, so therefore a gigantic glacier flood did not occur," Mr Gudmundsson said.

With about 15 magma exits at the fissure, he said, the volcano "is not a big eruption" by Icelandic standards.

But Mr Gudmundsson warned that extreme caution had to be exercised, because the eruption was taking place so close to two large glaciers.

"The eruption could end within one or two days, but also within one or two years," he told reporters.

Bjoerk Valdimarsdottir, whose sister lives in the vicinity of the eruption, told Swedish news website dn.se the area's residents had completed evacuation drills last summer to be prepared for a volcanic eruption. He said the glow from the eruption could be seen near the capital, where she lives.

Asked by Swedish public radio if she felt there was any danger, local resident Christina Bengtsson also said the biggest problem was volcanic ash.

"The ashes can be dangerous for the animals," she said. "When we went out before, we could feel (the ash) in our mouths. From my window, I see a red sky. If I went out the door, I could also see fire."

Meanwhile later yesterday almost all of the 600 people evacuated following the volcanic eruption in southern Iceland were allowed to return home and all flights resumed in the Nordic island country, authorities said.

"We are allowing almost all of the 600 inhabitants to return to their homes, with the exception of the residents of 14 farms who are not allowed to return home," local police chief Kjartan Thorkelsson said at 1730 GMT.