Larger earthquakes possible in South Iceland over next few days

An earthquake swarm has hit South Iceland beginning at around …

An earthquake swarm has hit South Iceland beginning at around 9 pm Friday night. mbl.is/Sigurður Bogi Sævarsson

Seismologists in Iceland say that they cannot rule out that larger earthquakes will occur in South Iceland within the next few days, possible of the size of the mighty South Iceland quakes in 2008 measuring 6 on the Richter scale. 

The Iceland Met Office says that it's difficult to predict what will happen this week, that the swarm of earthquakes could die out or that it could cause a change in tensional stress in an unknown spot. 

Over 400 earthquakes have occurred in the swarm that began last night. The largest quake measuring 4.1 was felt considerably in the town of Selfoss. 

The Iceland Met Office would like to urge people living in the area hit by the earthquakes to avoid having loose objects hanging near their beds and to read up on the advice given by the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management HERE. 

The main rule during an earthquake is the Duck-Cover-Hold rule. 

 Those who are indoors when a large earthquake occurs should especially avoid: 

  • Furniture that may move.
  • Objects that may fall from shelves and cabinets (especially in kitchens).
  • Radiators that may move. 
  • Broken glass. 
  • Falling building parts.

Weather

Clear sky

Today

-2 °C

Partly cloudy

Later today

3 °C

Clear sky

Tomorrow

1 °C