A volcano erupted north of the southwestern Icelandic town of Grindavik early Sunday, near the site of a previous eruption in December, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said.
Seismic activity had intensified overnight and residents of Grindavik were evacuated around 3 am (0300 GMT), Icelandic public broadcaster RUV reported.
"A crack has opened up on both sides of the dikes that have begun to be built north of Grindavik," the met office wrote.
Live images showed jets of glowing orange lava spewing up against the dark winter sky.
This is Iceland's fifth volcanic eruption in two years, the previous one occurring on December 18 in the same region southwest of the capital Reykjavik.
Grindavik, a small fishing village of around 4,000 people, was evacuated as a precaution on November 11.
Since then, residents have been allowed to return for brief periods, before an evacuation was again ordered overnight.
Iceland is home to 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe.
Situated in the North Atlantic, Iceland straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.
Volcano erupts in Japan
A volcano on Suwanose Island in southwestern Japan erupted just after midnight on Sunday, the country's weather agency said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries and damage as of late Sunday morning, according to the Toshima Village website on the island.
The Japan Meteorological Agency urged those in the area to "refrain from entering the danger zone".
Mount Otake spewed rocks to areas beyond its one-kilometre radius, the agency said.
The village authorities warned residents of possible future eruptions that may send large rocks in the air and to the surrounding area.
Japan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of intense seismic and volcanic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
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PM visits quake-hit Ishikawa
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the earthquake-hit central region on Sunday and promised further help for survivors.
Kishida visited emergency shelters in Ishikawa prefecture to speak with disaster victims who fled their homes after a 7.5-magnitude quake on New Year's Day and powerful aftershocks that killed at least 221 people.
"I realise tough times are continuing. I received your thoughts and I will continue to do my part with all of my strength. Please stay strong," he told a group of survivors who were staying at a middle school in Wajima city.
After the initial jolt, the region has been hit by a tsunami and well over 1,000 aftershocks, some of them registering above 5.0-magnitude, that flattened houses and wrecked infrastructure.
Two weeks since the disaster struck, more than 20,000 residents in the remote region continue to live in nearly 400 shelters.
Hundreds of people are also in more than a dozen communities that cannot be accessed by vehicles after the quakes damaged roads and caused landslides.
Some 9,300 households remain without power.
Quake survivors told Kishida about their reservations about moving away from their hometowns, where their jobs and houses are.
Local officials also told him about public health worries such as spread of infectious diseases like Covid and influenza at congested shelters and urged the national government to quickly build more prefabricated homes to house local residents.
Officials also stressed that many survivors left their homes as they were with no money, change of clothes or other belongings.
After his visit, Kishida pledged to release more than 100 billion yen ($690 million) from the government's reserve fund to help the region before the end of January.
"Many survivors told me about their frustration and anxiety about their uncertain future," Kishida told reporters.
"I am resolved to give all my strength to deal with the disaster and to restore the lives of the survivors."
