From Iceland — Several Earthquakes In South Iceland

Several Earthquakes In South Iceland

Published September 11, 2019

Sam O'Donnell
Photo by
Icelandic Met Office

Early this morning, at 5:22, a magnitude-1.7 earthquake occurred 1 km north of Hveragerði, which was felt in the area. Later this morning, at 6:06 AM, a larger earthquake of 3.4 occurred just 3 km northeast of Grindavík.

A few minor earthquakes followed, all smaller than magnitude-2.0 on the Richter scale. The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) received notifications about the earthquake, but there was no tremor.

Three hours later, a magnitude-3.0 earthquake occurred 2 km southeast of Hrómundartindur in South Iceland. Several smaller earthquakes followed. People in Hveragerði reported that they also felt that earthquake, although IMO is clear that the two earthquakes have nothing to do with each other.

Earthquakes are common in the area. The SIL Data Acquisition System operated by IMO located just over 280 earthquakes across the country last week, similar to the week before that. Two of the earthquakes were located in Bárðarbunga volcano on the 8th of September, one magnitude-3.2 at 02:02am and the next one, magnitude-4.2, following immediately after, at 02:03am.

While this may seem like a lot of earthquakes, IMO reports that this seismic activity is typical. There was only a slight increase in seismic activity under Askja Volcano, which is no cause for alarm.

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