Yesterday’s powerful earthquake—a 5.7 just 3.3km beneath the surface near Krýsuvík—shook the greater part of southwest Iceland and prompted a variety of reactions, some of them wiser than others.
The next time you experience an earthquake, remember these handy tips from the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management.
Their advice is summarised as “duck, cover, hold”. If you’re inside during an earthquake, move away from things that may fall when shaken roughly, such as kitchen cabinets or things up on shelves. Instead, duck into an open doorway, cover your head with one hand, and hold onto the doorway. If there is no doorway nearby, you can also duck into a corner and cover your head, bracing yourself as best as possible, or duck under a table. They insist that you do not “run aimlessly inside or run outside in a panic”.
If you’re outside when an earthquake strikes, move away from buildings and power lines, keeping a safe distance from any structure taller than you are. Avoid rocky or gravelly slopes of a mountain or hill. If you’re driving, pull over and stop your vehicle in a safe space.
In other news, there were more quakes felt in the capital area this morning; six of them measuring over 3.0. Páll Einarsson, a professor emeritus of geology at the University of Iceland, believes that there is still a likelihood of earthquakes measuring up to a 6.5 in the area.
Yesterday’s earthquake did not cause any death or injuries, apart from bursts of fear and anxiety, but there was some damage done to the supermarket Krónan, as the tremors tossed items off the shelves, RÚV reports.
“It happened so fast,” store manager Geir Magnússon told reporters. “We were just doing our daily tasks when suddenly this happened. It felt like you were at sea.”
While the quake did cause considerable damage in terms of products thrown to the floor, Geir said there were no injuries, and the store was quickly cleaned up.
Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.
You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
