From Iceland — Massive Earthquake Strikes, Felt Across Southwest Iceland

Massive Earthquake Strikes, Felt Across Southwest Iceland

Published October 20, 2020

Andie Sophia Fontaine
Photo by
Christian Bickel/Wikimedia Commons

An enormous earthquake, lasting several seconds but feeling more like an eternity, just struck at 13:43 barely four kilometres away from Kýsuvík in southwest Iceland, at a depth of only 3.3 kilometres, according to the latest data from the Icelandic Met Office.

The first readings of the quake put the magnitude at 5.7, followed by several smaller aftershocks in the same area. There have been no reported deaths or injuries at the time of this writing. This being an initial reading, the exact measurement of magnitude may be updated later.

The quake was felt across southwest Iceland, with pronounced shaking in the capital area that had everyone heading to the Met Office homepage, crashing the site for a few minutes. The site may still be experiencing traffic problems at the time of this writing.

Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir was conducting a live interview at the time the earthquake struck, but managed to keep her cool, as you can see here, and below:

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