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The eruption of a volcano 120km southeast of the capital, Reykyavik, had Icelanders speculating that it may trigger an even more powerful volcano. Almost 500 people were evacuated Saturday 21 March from two villages near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which shot molten lava into the sky. The country’s two airports were closed and international flights were diverted to avoid volcanic ash being sucked into turbines.

The eruption came after thousands of tremors hit the island over the past month. Iceland is a volcanic outcrop on the mid-Atlantic ridge and is subject to constant seismic activity.

Scientists believe that the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano will trigger the much more powerful and nearby Katla volcano, which could melt glaciers, cause flooding, and serious damage to the atmosphere. The smaller volcano, dormant for 200 years, has erupted three times in the past 1,000 years, triggering Katla each time.

Links to other sites: BBC, The Times