On Friday Evening a Shallow M5.2 FORESHOCK struck near Reykjavík in Iceland.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 10th, 2023. Last updated December 8th, 2023.

Under land 44 kilometer from Reykjavík in Iceland, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.2 foreshock occurred in the evening of Friday November 10th, 2023.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Iceland, 44 kilometer (27 mi) southwest of Reykjavík in Capital Region. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 10, 2023 18:00 (Reykjavik Time) - Nov 10, 2023 18:00 Universal Time.
Location:	44 km SW of Reykjavík, Capital Region, Iceland. Coordinates 63°52'53"N 22°35'12"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 49 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.044 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (7 km from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Impact

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

Many buildings damaged at Grindavik.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Iceland . Located 38 kilometer (24 mi) southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Hafnarfjörður (Capital Region, Iceland) is the nearest significant population center.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 4 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 4 people have reported shaking in 3 places, all within Iceland.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Reykjavík, Höfuðborgarsvæði, Iceland: 2 people.
• Hella, Suðurland, Iceland: 1 person.
• Njarðvík, Suðurnes, Iceland: 1 person.

This is likely a foreshock

This earthquake was followed by a stronger MAG-5.3 earthquake, classifying this earthquake as a foreshock.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since July 31st, 2022, when a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit 14 km (9 mi) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck on February 24th, 2021.

In total, 35 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.2 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 08/12/23 01:38 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000la69
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20231110_0000305
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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