A volcano erupted for the second time in less than a month near an Icelandic town on Sunday morning, spewing lava into the town and destroying homes.

According to the BBC, some houses are already on fire, as seen in a video showing lava setting several buildings in the town on fire. report.

Similarly, RÚV, Iceland's national broadcaster, shared webcams from multiple locations over multiple hours showing the eruption's progress of lava toward the town.

please look #eruption near #grindavik RÚV's 4 webcamshttps://t.co/0E71nog7tb

— RÚV English (@RuvEnglish) January 14, 2024

According to the Associated Press, 3,800 residents had already been evacuated before the lava reached the town. report. After the volcano erupted on December 18, defensive walls were built to redirect the flow of lava, but Sunday's eruption breached these walls, the paper noted.

Machines used to work on the wall managed to be rescued from the lava after a “heroic” effort, Rube English tweeted.

A heroic and successful effort was made to save a machine operating near its limits. #lava. This machine was used to build defensive walls against lava flows.#grindavik – The same wall through which the worker drove the machine to safety. pic.twitter.com/e5BvnrbJFS

— RÚV English (@RuvEnglish) January 14, 2024

“This continues to surprise us,” Benedikt Ofeigsson, an official at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told Icelandic media, according to the Associated Press. “Things had slowed down since the eruption started, but about half an hour or an hour ago it started to pick up again. We don't see the city slowing down anymore.” (Related: Icelandic Coast Guard rescues man stranded near volcanic eruption site)

The town's mayor, Fanner Jonasson, was quoted by the BBC as saying the eruption was a “huge and serious shock to residents” and that the lava did not have to travel long distances to reach the town.

“This eruption has no impact on Keflavík Airport or on air travel in general,” said Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, a spokesperson for the Icelandic Civil Protection Agency. Said CNN.

Iceland is no stranger to severe seismic phenomena, as 30,000 earthquakes occurred in November, raising the possibility of a serious volcanic eruption. In 2010, a massive volcano erupted in Iceland, resulting in a thick cloud of volcanic ash that caused more than 100,000 flights to be canceled in Europe.