Lava spewing from a volcano in Iceland appears to be flowing far from the only nearby town and the intensity of the eruption is easing, raising hopes that homes will not be at risk even if seismic activity continues for months, officials said today.

The government said that flights are unlikely to be affectedallaying international transport concerns following the chaos caused by ash clouds rising from an eruption on the North Atlantic island in 2010.

Last night’s eruption on the Reykjavík peninsula in southwest Iceland sent lava and smoke more than 100 meters into the air, following weeks of intense seismic activity.

“The explosion is not life-threatening“, it is pointed out in a government announcement.

“There are no reported problems with flights to and from Iceland and international runways remain open».

Last month authorities evacuated nearly 4,000 residents of the town of Grindavik, about 40 kilometers southwest of the capital Reykjavik, allowing them to periodically check their earthquake-prone homes.

Hans Vera, aged 56, who is originally from Belgium but has lived in a house east of Grindavik since 1999, hoped the residents would be allowed to return once and for all. But that changed when the explosion finally happened.

“I don’t see how in the near future they will allow people to get close to Grindavik. So we’re back to waiting“, he said.

He described his seaside home as a winter paradise and as a blow the prospect of not being able to spend the Christmas holidays there with his family.

“We will not go to heaven during this time“, he added.

Live footage of the eruption showed yellow, orange and red lava flowing in stark contrast to the sky.

Some tourists watched the spectacle in awe.

“Our host sent us a message that the volcano has erupted,” said a tourist from the Netherlands, who gave his first name, Wooter. It’s a ‘once in a lifetime experience for us, so we don’t want to miss that… It’s a bit far from here, but you can still see lava erupting, for us it’s amazing».

The explosion caused a fissure 4 kilometers long. But at its southernmost point, the fissure remains 3 kilometers from Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Service said, as the volcano’s power diminishes.

“… The lava does not flow towards Grindavik,” geologist Björn Odsson told state broadcaster RUV.

Blue Lagoon

The explosion occurred about 30 kilometers from Reykjavik. Keflavik International Airport is nearby but remains open.

The Blue Lagoon, a geothermal spa popular with tourists, has been closed for the most part since the seismic activity began.

“It could go on for months, it could also just stop later today or tomorrow” said Halldor Gairsson, a professor at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland.

The lava flow has dropped from 200-250 cubic meters per second in the first two hours of the eruption to about a quarter of that this morning.

Gerson said most of the lava flows are in an area where there is little infrastructure. But, that could change.

“There is still a threat to Grindavik, to be sure. Now, the lava flows mostly in the northern part, but it depends on the topography and where the fissures are“, he emphasized.

Impact on flights unlikely

In 2010, a plume of volcanic ash from eruptions at the Eyjafjörður volcano in southern Iceland spread across large parts of Europe, canceling around 100,000 flights in Europe and beyond and forcing hundreds of Icelanders from their homes.

Weather service AccuWeather said the eruption is very different from the one in 2010, and initial information indicates that there will not be too much of an impact on air travel.

“If little or no volcanic ash is carried into the atmosphere, there will likely be no impact on aviationsaid AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist John Porter.

For his part, Matthew Watson, a professor of volcanology at the University of Bristol in Britain, said that “it is not impossible that there could possibly be some impact on aviation”, although it is unlikely.

“This type of explosion does not generally produce a large amount of ash, which tends to ground aircraft».