A nature conservation expert from the Meteorological Office says there are no signs of a possible eruption due to the major earthquake that hit the Reykjanes Peninsula today. The earthquake is one of the largest in the area since measurements began in 1991.
The earthquake occurred at 1:43 pm and had a magnitude of 5.6 degrees. The people of the capital, Suðurnes region and more felt the shock. Its source was about five kilometers west of the Seltún geothermal area in Reykjanes, near Kleifarvatn.
Kristín Jónsdóttir, nature conservation officer at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, tells Vísir that despite the severe earthquake, there are no signs of a possible eruption. However, many aftershocks were detected, and by three o’clock about fifty had been registered.
“According to early reports, the biggest aftershock was just over four degrees” Kristín was saying.
Since regular measurements of seismic activity began in Reykjanes in 1991, only five earthquakes with magnitudes above 5 degrees have been detected.
“The largest earthquake of a magnitude similar to that which occurred today was in fact” triggered “by the Suðurlandsskjálftan earthquake on June 17, 2000. In fact, it was such a tremendous shock that it caused an earthquake that, like now, occurred in around Kleifarvatn “ says Kristín.
Today’s earthquake has caused many Icelanders to contact the Meteorological Office.
“I can confidently say that we rarely receive that many notifications, but this is natural as the quake was felt throughout the entire capital area, which is very densely populated, among others. The earthquake was so strong that people from the west of the Westfjords also reported it, so the shock was felt over a very large area “ – says Kristín.
“It was not as big an earthquake as the Suðurlandsskjálftan or Hveragerði earthquakes in 2008, but it is certainly an earthquake that we felt very strongly in the capital. I don’t think I felt such a strong earthquake before, not like now “ she added.
People in the southwest of Iceland have experienced several major earthquakes this year. In late August, the Reykjanes Peninsula was shaken by an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2. Its epicenter was about 10 kilometers northeast of the village of Grindavík. In March, a 5.2-degree earthquake occurred in a similar place.
mmn / visir.is
Source: Yle