Large Earthquake Rocks Iceland As Scientists Expect Eruption

Sunday July 9, a magnitude 5,2 earthquake shook the whole of the country, with people reporting the shockwaves as far as Ísafjörður in West Iceland. This is the largest tremor reported since increased seismic activity started on the Reykjanes peninsula on Tuesday, July 4.

Approximately 12.000 earthquakes have been registered by the Icelandic Meteorologist Office since the series of tremors started on Tuesday.

Volcanologist Þorvaldur Þórðarson has said the seismic activity indicates an imminent eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula. Bjarni Kaldalóns Friis, a natural disaster specialist at the Icelandic Met Office, has told RÚV that the volcano is estimated to erupt southwest of the mountain Keilir.

The area last erupted at Geldingadalir in 2021 and Meradalir in 2022.

We continue to monitor the situation which you can follow here.