The eruption lit up the night sky just after midnight on Sunday Several hundred people have been evacuated from their homes, as a volcano erupted in southern Iceland. The volcano near the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier began to erupt shortly after midnight, leading to road closures in the area. No one was in immediate danger, but 500 people were being moved from the area, a civil protection officer said. It is almost 200 years since a volcano near Eyjafjallajoekull, 120km (75 miles) east of Reykjavik, last erupted. "We estimate that no one is in danger in the area but we have started an evacuation plan and between 500 and 600 people are being evacuated," Sigurgeir Gudmundsson of the Icelandic civil protections department told the Agence France-Presse news agency. There are fears that the volcano could cause flooding, as it causes ice to melt on the glacier above it. "Ash has already begun to fall in Fljotshlid and people in the surrounding area have reported seeing bright lights emanating from the glacier," RUV public radio said on its website. "It was a bit scary, but still amazing to see," Katrin Moller Eiriksdottir, who lives in Fljotshlid, told the BBC News website. "The ash had started falling and we couldn't leave the car. They have now closed the road but we'll see what happens in the morning." Three Icelandair flights, bound for Reykjavik from the United States, have been ordered to return to their points of origin, RUV radio reported. The last volcanic eruption in the area occurred in 1821. Are you in the area? Have you been affected by the eruption? Send your comments using the post form below. A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. Name
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Una erupción volcánica comenzó el sábado en el sur de Islandia, cerca del glaciar Eyjafjallajökull. Las primeras señales de la erupción fueron observadas entre las 23.00 UTC y la medianoche. Aún no es clara la localización exacta, pero parece estar ubicada en la población de Fimmvörðuháls.
Archivo:Eyjafjallajökull.jpeg|thumb|200px|left|Glaciar Eyjafjallajökull. Imagen de Andreas Tille.
Las personas que habitan esta área están siendo evacuadas. La policía ha cerrado las carreteras que conducen a la zona y fue declarado el estado de emergencia. Si la erupción se produjo bajo el glaciar, se esperan que se presenten inundaciones, pero algunos expertos afirman que esta parece haber ocurrido entre Eyjafjallajökull y el glaciar Mýrdalsjökull, reduciendo el peligro. Se reporta que la erupción puede visualizarse desde Vestmannaeyjar. El flujo de lava se observa viscoso y denso.

La aerolínea Icelandair ha desviado los vuelos que se dirigen a Islandia como precaución, debido a los riesgos de accidentalidad por las cenizas volcánicas. Una NOTAM (''Notice To Airmen'', información para aviadores) a las aerolíneas prohibe vuelos dentro de las 120 millas náuticas aledañas al volcán.

Islandia es una isla volcánica situada en medio de la cadena montañosa submarina Dorsal mesoatlántica, en la confluencia de las placas tectónicas Americana y Europea.