Icelandic volcano sparks flood fears

A volcano in Iceland is continuing to erupt, raising fears of flooding from melting glaciers.

A fissure about 500m long opened between the Eyjafjallajoekull and Myrdalsjoekull glaciers at a height of 1,100m.

The area, called Fimmvorduhals, is a popular walking path lying over a mountain pass.

Almost all of the 600 people who were evacuated early Sunday morning have been allowed to return to their homes, and only inhabitants of 14 farms are still obliged to stay away. There have been no injuries or damage to property so far.

There are no immediate signs that the eruption in Eyjafjallajokull has caused any changes in the much more powerful Katla, some 12 miles east of the present eruption. Katla is beneath Myrdalsjoekull and an eruption there would cause widespread flooding from the melting of glacier ice.

Historically eruptions in Eyjafjallajoekull have triggered eruptions in Katla. A major eruption could release a large amount of sulphur dioxide and volcanic ash into the atmosphere, which would have consequences for air traffic across the Atlantic.

The last eruption in Katla was in 1918, and the volcano typically erupts around every 50 to 80 years, so one is overdue.