Iceland's volcano continued to spew ash and smoke skywards Thursday evening with no sign of letup in the days ahead, officials said in Reykjavik.
The Foreign Ministry said experts said the risk of ongoing volcanic activity for the upcoming days was high.
"We can only hope that the situation will calm down," Iceland President Johanna Sigurdardottir said on television.
"But we can't do anything. The damage is already considerable," she added.
Vulcanologists in Reykjavik noted that the last eruption of the Eyjafjallajoekull glacier, about 120 kilometres east of the capital of Reykjavik, in 1821 came to an end after two years. That period was marked by various phases of activity ranging from weak to strong to periods of dormancy.