Magnitude 4.1 earthquake felt across southwest Iceland

A strong earthquake measuring 4.1 magnitude struck southwest Iceland shortly before 12:30 a.m. on July 27. The epicenter was located near Nesjavellir, north of the Hengill area.

Residents reported feeling the tremor as far away as Snæfellsnes peninsula and Selfoss. Steinunn Helgadóttir, a natural hazard specialist at the Icelandic Met Office, told mbl.is that seismic activity following the main quake has been minimal, with only a few small aftershocks recorded.

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It has been a long time since an earthquake of this magnitude, but this is a very well-known earthquake area, so to speak. The earthquake that occurred in 1998 occurred slightly south of where this is happening on a known earthquake fault.

The earthquake was the largest in the Nesjavellir area since 1998, when a magnitude 4.6 quake occurred in a similar location. Helgadóttir noted that while it has been a long time since an earthquake of this magnitude, the area is known for seismic activity. The 1998 quake occurred slightly south of the current epicenter, on a known fault line.

Helgadóttir also mentioned a significant earthquake swarm west of Húsmúli near the Hengill area earlier in the summer. She suggested this could potentially have led to stress release in nearby regions, but currently, the 4.1 magnitude event is considered a single, isolated earthquake in the Nesjavellir region.

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There has been extremely little aftershock activity, just a few small earthquakes that have ticked in since it happened.