An Iceland volcano erupts again but spares the nearby town of Grindavik for now

Grindavik, Iceland: Lava continued to spew from a volcano in southwestern Iceland on Friday the sixth time since December the volcano has erupted on...

Grindavik, Iceland: Lava continued to spew from a volcano in southwestern Iceland on Friday - the sixth time since December the volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

The eruption from a new fissure began shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday following a series of strong earthquakes and within the hour a 4-kilometer (2.4-mile) fissure cut through the Sundhnúkur crater.

Iceland authorities say the eruption’s effects remain localized with road closures but do not threaten the population.

Halldór Björnsson, head of weather and climate at the Norwegian Meteorological Agency, told the Icelandic news portal Vísir that unlike previous eruptions, the lava flow was not heading for the town of Grindavik that was largely evacuated in December when the volcano came to life after being dormant for 800 years.

"If this continues like this, Grindavík is not in danger,” geophysicist Magnús Tuma Guðmundsson told the website after flying over the eruption. "Of course, we don’t know what will happen in the near future, but it is likely that this has reached its peak and then it will start to subside like the other eruptions.”