Push Admin

Hundreds of quakes in Iceland spur volcano warning

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A file photograph showing a prop airliner taking off from Reykjav’k Airport in Reykjav’k, Iceland, for a domestic flight on 16 April 2010. EPA/S. OLAFS" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/07/05/20230705-iceland.jpg"/><figcaption>A file photograph showing a prop airliner taking off from Reykjav’k Airport in Reykjav’k, Iceland, for a domestic flight on 16 April 2010. <em>EPA/S. OLAFS</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>REYKJAVIK - Some 2,200 earthquakes have been recorded in the area around Iceland&#x27;s capital Reykjavik the past 24 hours, signaling that a volcanic eruption could be imminent, the country&#x27;s weather office said Wednesday.</p><p>The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said the tremors began around 4 pm (1600 GMT) on Tuesday beneath Mount Fagradalsfjall, which sits atop a volcanic system and where two eruptions have occurred in the past two years on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland&#x27;s southwestern tip.</p><p>&quot;Around 2,200 earthquakes have been detected and the largest earthquakes have been felt in the Southwest part of Iceland,&quot; the agency said Wednesday, adding that continued seismic activity was likely.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/07/05/23/peru-volcano-rumbles-to-life-spews-ash-on-towns">Peru volcano rumbles to life, spews ash on towns</a></li></ul><p>Seven of the quakes had a magnitude over four, which is still considered a light quake.</p><p>The seismic activity also prompted the agency to raise its aviation alert to &quot;orange&quot; from &quot;green&quot;.</p><p>The color code is designed to inform the aviation industry of eruption risks.</p><p>In April 2010, some 100,000 flights were canceled, leaving more than 10 million travelers stranded, following the massive eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, around 150 kilometers to the east along Iceland&#x27;s southern coast.</p><p>The enormous plumes of ash that billowed into the sky for several weeks, caused the biggest air traffic disruption in peacetime until the Covid-19 pandemic.</p><p>While no &quot;eruption tremor&quot; had been observed so far Mount Fagradalsfjall, the likelihood of one occurring &quot;within the coming hours to days&quot; had increased.</p><p>Iceland is Europe&#x27;s biggest and most active volcanic region.</p><p>The North Atlantic island straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack on the ocean floor separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.</p><p>Lava spewed out near Mount Fagradalsfjall, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the capital Reykjavik, in both 2021 and 2022, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors to catch a rare glimpse of an active volcano.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yl7tLrEAiCc?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>