Iceland records over 18,000 earthquakes in a week, now braces for potential volcanic eruption

The most powerful earthquake in recent days of magnitude 5.6 struck Iceland's Reykjanes region on February 24. Five more were recorded on the same day.

Iceland is bracing for a volcanic eruption in its southern peninsula Reykjanes, which has recorded a series of tremors in the past week. According to Icelandic Meteorological Office (ICO), over 18,000 tremors have been recorded in a week, compared to 1,000 normally for a whole year.

Police in Iceland close the road approaching an area where the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates meet, near the town of Grindavik in Iceland on Wednesday. (AFP Photo)

The meteorological office said that an "increase in seismic tremor" was detected throughout most of the country. "Magma movements are a likely cause for the ongoing signal, and it is possible that an effusive (lava-producing) eruption could occur close to Keilir," the department said in its bulletin on Wednesday.

"The magma is fracturing and it is so close to the surface... that we have to take it seriously," Freysteinn Sigmundsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, told news agency AFP.

Iceland is the most active volcanic region in Europe, with an eruption every five years on average. It has 30 volcanic systems and more than 600 hot springs, and straddles tectonic plates on the mid-Atlantic ridge.

The residents of capital Reykjavik and in areas close to the city have been tokd that the volcanic area was expected to release lava slowly over the next few weeks. However, the weather scientists say there was no indication that the event would pose a threat to human life or property.

The meteorological department, meanwhile, has elevated the alert for air travel from yellow to orange - the third-highest level. Red, the highest level of alert, is reserved for an imminent or ongoing volcanic eruption.

The ICO analysed the satellite data of the area around Reykjanes, which is around 50 kilometre from the capital, to present some possible developments, including a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in the Fagradalsfjall area.

The most powerful earthquake in recent days of magnitude 5.6 struck the region on February 24. Five more were recorded on the same day.

Such intense seismic activity has not been recorded in the region since digital monitoring began in 1991.