Reykjavik: A volcano in south-western Iceland erupted for the second time in less than a month on Sunday, sending lava snaking toward a nearby community and setting at least one home on fire.

The eruption, which began just before 8am local time, came after authorities evacuated the town of Grindavik following a swarm of small earthquakes, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.

Hours later, a second fissure opened near the edge of town and lava crept toward the homes.

“We just watch it on the cameras and there’s really nothing else we can do,” Grindavik resident Reynir Berg Jonsson told Iceland’s RUV television.

Grindavik is a town of 3800 about 50 kilometres south-west of Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. The community was previously evacuated in November following a series of earthquakes that opened large cracks in the earth between the town and Sylingarfell, a small mountain to the north. The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa – one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions – also closed temporarily.

The volcano eventually erupted on December 18, and residents were allowed to return to their homes on December 22.

In the weeks since then, emergency workers have been building defensive walls around Grindavik, but the barriers weren’t complete and lava is moving toward the community, the meteorological office said.

Before last month’s eruption, the Svartsengi volcanic system north of Grindavik had been dormant for about 780 years. The volcano is just a few kilometres west of Fagradalsfjall, which was dormant for 6000 years before flaring to life in March 2021.