Iceland Volcano Erupts for the Third Time Since December

Iceland Volcano Erupts , for the Third Time Since December.

The volcano, located in southwestern Ireland, began erupting at 1 a.m.

ET on Feb.

8, NBC News reports.

.

The Blue Lagoon spa, a major tourist attraction, has been evacuated.

.

The volcano is two and a half miles from the coastal town of Grindavik, which is home to 3,800 people.

The town was already evacuated due to another eruption that began on Dec.

18.

According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, lava is currently flowing west, leaving Grindavik and an area power plant safe for the time being.

According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, lava is currently flowing west, leaving Grindavik and an area power plant safe for the time being.

Officials warned of a possible eruption earlier this week after detecting a magma buildup below ground over the past few weeks.

Since Feb.2, hundreds of small earthquakes have been observed.

A burst of seismic activity occurred about a half hour before the most recent eruption began.

Video footage from the country's coast guard depicts lava shooting over 165 feet into the air, NBC News reports.

.

Volcanologist Dave McGarvie said it's "a bit of a shock that" the volcano "has come back to life," and it's not clear whether Grindavik residents will be able to permanently return home.

I think at the moment there is the resignation, the stoical resignation, that, for the foreseeable future, the town is basically uninhabitable, Volcanologist Dave McGarvie, via NBC News.

Evidence that we gathered only quite recently is that eruptions could go on for decades, if not centuries, sporadically in this particular peninsula, Volcanologist Dave McGarvie, via NBC News