Iceland’s erupting volcano appears to be taking a worst-case scenario as a new fissure has bypassed barriers to protect the town of Grindavik from lava, with the country’s prime minister calling the situation “very serious”..

The volcanic eruption occurred on Sunday morning near Grindavik, the town that was evacuated again in November.

Lava again threatened the community yesterday, but Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdottir said the barriers had “achieved their purpose” and directed much of the flow away.

However, the appearance of a new fissure “within the city” has bypassed the barriers and the lava has “already reached several houses”.

“Obviously this really changes the design. Because we announced yesterday that we were mostly worried about cracks and rifts under the city, but now we have a volcanic eruption right inside the city. This is very serious.”

This is Iceland’s worst eruption in 50 years.

The most recent eruption of the volcano on the peninsula began on December 18, after the authorities completely evacuated the town of Grindavik — from which about 4,000 people were evacuated — and closed the Blue Lagoon spas, which are a popular tourist destination.