The volcanic activity in south Iceland is increasing slowly, according to reports reaching?Stockholm from Reykjavik on Monday.

The Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts in southern Iceland early March 21, 2010. The volcano erupted overnight, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate the area and diverting flights after authorities declared a local state of emergency, officials said on Sunday. [Xinhua]

Scientists who flew over the eruption zone Eyjafjallajokull on Monday afternoon local time estimated that the lava flow from the crater is spreading out over a larger area and the eruption is becoming more forceful, said the Icelandic electronic newspaper Iceland Review.

The Icelandic Coast Guard flew with the team of scientists over Eyjafjallajokull and the Fimmvorduhals mountain pass, it said.

"Visibility was limited to begin with but then the weather cleared up and the scientists could see the eruption clearly. The lava is flowing down a canyon south of the craters on the pass and clouds of steam rise up from where the lava melts ice and snow," the report said.

Seismologist Kristin Waagfjord, who was onboard the plane, said while the eruption was still small, disturbances are growing and there is nothing to indicate that the volcanic activity is declining.

The Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupts in southern Iceland early March 21, 2010. The volcano erupted overnight, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate the area and diverting flights after authorities declared a local state of emergency, officials said on Sunday. [Xinhua]

"The eruption appears to have been increasing since 9 am this morning. We are probably looking at signs of increased lava flow," he was quoted as saying by the Iceland Review.

A group of scientists had to turn around on their way to the source of the eruption earlier Monday due to stormy weather conditions and poor visibility. They were hoping to collect samples, the report added.

Early Sunday, a volcano in Iceland's southern area of the Eyjafjallajokull glacier erupted, some 120 km east of Reykjavik, capital of Iceland. Hundreds of local residents were being evacuated for fear of flooding caused by melting glacier waters.

The last eruption of a volcano in the same area occurred in the 1820s.