From Iceland — Earthquake Clusters Continue To Shake Iceland

Earthquake Clusters Continue To Shake Iceland

Published July 20, 2020

Catherine Magnúsdóttir
Photo by
vedur.is

The Reykjanes Peninsula has been shaken up by a large earthquake at Fagradalsfjall last night around midnight, measuring 5.0 in magnitude, and was followed by two strong aftershocks around 6:00 in the morning, measuring 4.6 and 4.3 in magnitude.

According to reports from Fréttablaðið, around 1,500 earthquakes were measured in total in the last 24 hours and approximately 900 of them occurred after midnight of last night.

The peninsula has been hit with a series of earthquakes since the beginning of the year due to ground swellings following magma intrusions near Mt. Þórbjörn.

Some of the aftershocks measured so far had magnitudes around 3-4 and more are expected in the area. There have been no reports of damages yet according to reports from Fréttablaðið but the earthquakes could be felt all around the southwest corner of the country, such as in the Westman Islands, Vík í Mýrdal and Borgarnes. Residents in and around Grindavík and Keflavík got to feel the earthly rumbles most strongly.

Meanwhile, the north of Iceland still faces its own earthquake clusters. According to vedur.is, a 4.4 earthquake at the mouth of Eyjafjörður, approximately 10km northwest of Gjögurtá, was measured yesterday. Since the earthquake series began on June 19, the Meteorological Office’s automatic seismic system has located over 14,000 earthquakes.

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