Fears of a major volcanic eruption in Iceland are continuing to grow. 

Local residents have been evacuated and lava defences are being installed, all serving to ignite memories of a catastrophic eruption 13 years ago which caused billions of dollars of financial damage and eight days of interrupted air traffic in Europe.

The rapid spread of a huge cloud of ash then led to more than 100,000 flight cancellations, at an estimated cost of almost $4 billion.

Kristín Jónsdóttir from Iceland's MET office told CGTN that ‌Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull outbreak in 2010 was an explosive eruption. 

He said: "We had a stratovolcano covered by glaciers. Here we are looking at a different kind of volcano."‌

‌Unlike that explosive outbreak in 2010, the current expected lava flow is likely to happen along a 15 kilometer crack which opened up in the fishing village of Grindavik. Magma is filling into this tunnel and recently rose to about 500 meters below the surface.

‌"While there's an infma into this crack it is likely that lava will reach the surface and we will have an eruption. But if the lava flow stops it can stagnate inside this crack and there will not be an eruption," Jónsdóttir explained.‌

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Although this volcanic activity is expected to only have a localized impact - for Iceland itself, the consequences are serious. Almost 4,000 people needed to be evacuated from the town, around 1 percent of the country's small population. And they might face a long wait to return.

‌Authorities are currently building earth walls to contain potential lava flows, although it is difficult to predict where along the crack an outbreak might occur.

‌Meanwhile the MET office is in close contact with Iceland's only international airport located around 30 kilometers from the volcano. But for now the authorities don't expect any consequences for air traffic, even if an eruption occurs.

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