Iceland records 2,200 earthquakes in 24 hours
ICELAND: Almost 2,200 earthquakes were recorded in the area around Iceland’s capital Reykjavik in the past 24 hours. The country’s weather office warned that it is a signal that a volcanic eruption could be imminent.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said the tremors began around 4 pm beneath Mount Fagradalsfjall. The mountain sits atop a volcanic system where two eruptions have occurred in the past two years on the Reykjanes Peninsula- Iceland’s southwestern tip.
“Around 2,200 earthquakes have been detected and the largest earthquakes have been felt in the Southwest part of Iceland,” the agency said. More seismic activity was likely, it added.
Seven of the quakes had a magnitude over four- considered a light quake. The seismic activity resulted in the aviation alert being raised to “orange” from “green”.
Iceland is Europe’s biggest and most active volcanic region. The North Atlantic island straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge- separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. In April 2010, 100,000 flights were cancelled, leaving more than 10 million travellers stranded, following the massive eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano- the biggest air traffic disruption in peacetime until the Covid pandemic.
– THE HINDUSTAN TIMES