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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A volcanic eruption started yesterday in south Iceland at or near the Eyjafjallajökull glacier.  The first signs of the eruption were seen between 23:00 and midnight GMT. It is still not clear where the exact location of the eruption is but it appears to be on Fimmvörðuháls.
Eyjafjallajökull glacier 
People living in the area are  being evacuated. Police have closed the roads into the area and a state of emergency has been declared. The eruption is expected to result in flooding if it is under the glacier, but fortunately it appears to between Eyjafjallajökull and another glacier, Mýrdalsjökull, reducing the danger of flooding. It is reported that the eruption can be seen as far away as from Vestmannaeyjar. So far the lava flow is viscous and thick.

There is also a danger that this eruption could trigger another eruption on nearby Mt. Katla, which is an off-rift volcano beneath Mýrdalsjökull. In the past, eruptions at Eyjafjallajökull have triggered eruptions at Mt. Katla. If Katla does erupt, the effect would be far more significant than that of the current eruption, as lava could melt the ice at the top of the mountain, causing the potential for massive flooding.

The air carrier Icelandair has diverted flights which were destined for Iceland as a precaution, due to the risks to aircraft of flying into volcanic ash.  A notice to airlines prohibits flights within 120 nautical miles of the volcano.

Iceland is a volcanic island situated atop the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the juncture of the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates.