The volcano in southwest Iceland has erupted, releasing streams of lava from under the earth's surface.

It follows thousands of small earthquakes in the area over recent weeks.

The fissure erupted 30 kilometers from the capital Reykjavik and is more than 500 m long.

This is the first eruption in the area in centuries.

Deny Howard reports.

This is what Icelanders have been waiting for for weeks.

Now 40 kilometers south of the capital, Reykjavik, lava began spewing from the ground on Friday evening and a no fly zone has been established in the area.

Iceland sits between two tectonic plates, so eruptions aren't uncommon, but this is the first in figured Asheville in 900 years.

Normally, there are around 1000 tremors a year, but there have been more than 50,000 in the last three weeks, the highest number since digital recordings began in 1991.

In 2010, the eruption of another volcano ejected a column of ash nine kilometers into the air that brought flights to a halt across Europe.

Iceland's meteorological office says the love of from this eruption will emerge more slowly and not create such disruption.

The small village of Grand AVIC is just a few kilometres away.

For weeks now, they have been affected by near constant earthquakes and tremors.

Warning of the upcoming eruption.

The earth shook well outside and when I came in with the luggage, the kitchen island was on its side and various things had come out of the cupboards we thought we'd prepared.

Police have told residents to close their windows and stay indoors due to the risk of gas pollution carried by the wind.

And after 900 years of volcanic in activity, people in the area have been flooding social media with photos and videos of this formidable site.