Volcano erupts again in Iceland, fourth time in 3 months (WATCH)

A volcano in Iceland erupted on Saturday for the fourth time since December, the country's meteorological office said, spewing smoke and bright orange lava into the air in sharp contrast against the dark night sky.

A new volcanic fissure on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula spewed lava on Saturday prompting evacuation of residents. A "volcanic eruption has started between Stóra-Skógfell and Hagafell on the Reykjanes Peninsula," according to a statement from the Icelandic Met Office (IMO), which included live footage from Icelandic news sites showing incandescent lava and billowing smoke.

It is the fourth eruption to hit the area since December, authorities said. The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management in Iceland declared that a helicopter had been dispatched to precisely pinpoint the position of the recently discovered fissure.

The eruption began at 2023 GMT and the fissure was estimated to be about 2.9 kilometres long, roughly the same size as the last eruption in February, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said in a statement.

The fishing village of Grindavik was ordered to evacuate, according to local media, after inhabitants received text messages urging them to do so immediately. The residents of Grindavík, a lava field on the Reykjanes Peninsula, were also instructed to migrate to Iceland's Blue Lagoon.

After being evacuated on November 11, the approximately 4,000 people of Grindavik were finally allowed to return to their houses on February 19. Numerous shocks in November caused significant damage to structures and widening of road fractures. A volcanic fissure appeared on December 18 but it spared the village. But a fissure opened right on the town’s edge, in January, sending lava flowing into the streets and reducing three homes to ashes, followed by a third eruption near the village on February 8.