The earthquake that occurred last friday night 6 km North East of the town of Selfoss was measured as having been of a considerably greater magnitude than had been previously reported. The area is known for powerful earthquakes and earthquakes up to 6.5 have been measured there in the past. According to the Iceland Met Office, Friday night’s tremors was a swarm of over 400 earthquakes detected in the area, with some of them measured of a magnitude of 4.1 on the Richter scale, while previous reports had three of the earthquakes topping 3.4. Consequently, seismologists in Iceland say that they cannot rule out that larger earthquakes will occur in South Iceland within the next few days, and that they might equal the size of the mighty South Iceland quakes in 2008, that were measured as 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 or break in tensional stress in an unknown spot. The Iceland Met Office would like to urge visitors travelling and staying 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, with those who are indoors when a large earthquake occurs taking care to stay clear of furniture that may move, objects that may fall from shelves and cabinets, radiators that may move, broken glass, and falling building parts.