Öraefajökull volcano only erupted twice in the past 100 years, in 1362 and 1727-28, but both eruptions were highly explosive and devastating. In particular the 1362 eruption devastated a whole region, which was later called "Öraefi", which means "wasteland".
The current activity is not necessarily meaning that a new eruption will happen, but as geophysicist Ari Trausti Gudmundsson said in an interview, such activity under Öraefajökull is rare, and clearly needs to be monitored. [less]