Today’s news / Iceland

Iceland

Since Tuesday evening, about 700 earthquakes have been recorded by Iceland’s meteorological office, according to Icelandmonitor. The earthquakes have occurred on the Reykjanes peninsula, and one of them – which struck on Wednesday morning near the fishing village of Grindavík – was reported with a magnitude of 4.5. According to Icelandmonitor, this earthquake was felt in Grindavík, in the entire region of Suðurnes and also in the area around the capital, Reykjavik. A few hours previously, another earthquake, with a magnitude of 3.9, had been recorded in the same area.
     Danish vulcanologist Rikke Pedersen, head of administration at the Nordic Vulcanology Institute, explains that the two largest earthquakes are remarkable – but that the wave itself is not a surprise. “It’s elevated seismic activity, but it’s not 700 earthquakes that you can feel. Two of them could be felt, the rest are discovered because we have such a dense seismic network,” she told Ritzau. Since 2020, the area has seen several such episodes of elevated activity. “Right now, there’s a seismic swarm going on. It may die down now, or it may continue. We can’t predict that,” she adds. Likewise, it is unclear whether the past day’s activity will lead to a volcanic eruption, says Rikke Pedersen. /ritzau/