New volcanic eruption in Iceland, southwest of Reykjavik

(Patria) - A new volcanic eruption occurred last night north of the town of Grindavik, in southwestern Iceland, where the previous one was in December last year, the state meteorological office (IMO) announced.

Due to seismic activity during the night, residents of Grindavik were also evacuated around 3 AM local time, Icelandic public television reported.

Surveillance footage from last night shows significant amounts of glowing lava and its movement.

This is the fifth volcanic eruption in Iceland in the last two years, and the previous one was on the evening of December 18, southwest of the capital Reykjavik.

Grindavik, a town of 4,000 inhabitants, was evacuated on November 11 as a precaution. Since then, residents have been allowed to return briefly, but they were urgently evacuated last night.

Iceland, the region with the most volcanoes in Europe, is considered to have 32 active volcanic systems.