Weather & Science

Iceland Faces Worst Volcanic Damage in 50 Years as Lava Burns Homes

  • No inhabited areas had been hit on such scale since 1973
  • Flights remain uninterrupted in absence of ash plume
WATCH: A volcanic eruption has restarted in southwestern Iceland on Sunday, destroying homes for the first time in more than 50 years.

Source: LIVEFROMICELAND.IS via APTN

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A renewed volcanic eruption in Iceland is destroying homes for the first time in more than 50 years, as lava flows reached the edge of a fishing town, setting houses alight.

At least two buildings in Grindavik were burning on Sunday afternoon, after lava-spewing fissures opened up in the ground earlier in the day, according to live footage by public broadcaster RUV. The lava vents are in the Reykjanes peninsula close to where a three-day eruption took place in December, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the country’s capital.