Iceland volcano erupts weeks after thousands were evacuated from a town on Reykjanes Peninsula

A volcano has erupted on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, turning the sky orange and putting the country’s civil defense on high alert. The eruption appears to have occurred about 2.4 miles from the town of Grindavik, which was evacuated in November after strong seismic activity damaged homes and raised fears of an imminent eruption. Grainy webcam video showed the moment of the eruption as a flash of light illuminating the sky at 10:17 p.m. Monday. As the eruption spread, magma, or semi-molten rock, could be seen spewing along the ridge of a hill. A scientist who flew over the site on Tuesday morning told Icelandic broadcaster RUV that he estimates twice as much lava had already spewed than the entire monthlong eruption on the peninsula this summer.