After over 17,000 earthquakes in 7 days, Iceland braces for volcanic eruption

Representative image (Wikimedia)

Iceland has witnessed around 17,000 earthquakes over the past week and the Icelandic Meteorological Office has cautioned the nation about chances of a volcanic eruption in the coming days.

Thousands of earthquakes have hit Iceland’s southwestern region of Reykjanes in the last seven days, with the largest being a quake of magnitude 5.6 on the Richter scale, which occurred early on February 24. The two other large earthquakes (over 5.0 magnitude on the Richter scale) that hit the nation occurred on February 27 and March 1.

While the tremors have not caused much damage so far except the roads developing small fissures and a few rockfalls here and there, an imminent volcanic eruption has kept authorities on alert for now.

A CNN report quoted Reykjavik resident Auður Alfa Ólafsdóttir as saying: “I have experienced earthquakes before but never so many in a row. It is very unusual to feel the Earth shake 24 hours a day for a whole week. It makes you feel very small and powerless against nature.”

Notably, Iceland is situated on a tectonic plate boundary that keeps splitting apart and the nation witnesses an average of 1,000 tremors every year. This is the first time such intense seismic activity has been reported in the region since 1991.

Iceland, which is one of the most active volcanic regions in Europe, last saw a volcanic eruption in August 2014. The Meteorology department of Iceland has warned that the current spurt of tremors could trigger an eruption from Mount Keilir, which has been inactive for as many as 800 years. Authorities have already shut roads around the mountain as a precautionary measure.

Speaking to news agency AFP, Freysteinn Sigmundsson, Geophysicist, University of Iceland, said: “The magma is fracturing, and it is so close to the surface... that we have to take it seriously.”

Sigmundsson added: “In case of an eruption, we are expecting a small one, where lava is flowing. We are not expecting a large, explosive eruption. The impact on atmosphere, flights and living conditions of people will be minimal.”