Volcano erupts in Iceland after series of earthquakes

A volcano in Iceland burst out Sunday after hundreds of earthquakes shook the Reykjanes Peninsula, prompting evacuations in a town near where a fissure spewing lava opened last month.

The eruption occurred around 8 a.m. local time near Sundhnjúkar, north of the city of Grindavik, according to local news media and the national civil protection agency. Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson, a volcanologist who advises the civil protection agency, said he boarded a coast guard helicopter to fly over the eruption about 10 minutes after it reportedly started.

At least 200 earthquakes According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the area near Grindavik, 52 miles southwest of the capital Reykjavik, was hit around 3 a.m. local time on Sunday. Before the eruption, the civil protection agency ordered the evacuation of Grindavik, saying an eruption was imminent.

The latest eruption occurred along a row of volcanoes on the Reykjanes Peninsula, where a fissure opened and erupted in December, creating a glowing and winding river of lava.

This is a development story.