On Tuesday Afternoon a Shallow M5.2 Earthquake struck near Reykjavík in Iceland.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 1st, 2025. Last updated April 9th, 2025.

A shallow and significant M5.2 earthquake struck under land 39 kilometer from Reykjavík in Iceland in the late afternoon of Tuesday April 1st, 2025.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Iceland, 39 kilometer (24 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:	Apr 1, 2025 16:54 (Reykjavik Time) 8 days ago - Apr 1, 2025 16:54 Universal Time.
Location:	39 km SW of Reykjavík, Capital Region, Iceland. Coordinates 63°54'31"N 22°29'35"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.2 Detected by 30 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.057 .
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 (8 km from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Iceland . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Hafnarfjörður in Capital Region, Iceland. Hafnarfjörður is located 32 kilometer (20 mi) southwest of the epicenter.

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

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 10 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 10 people have reported shaking in 6 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: 4 people.
• Seltjarnarnes, Höfuðborgarsvæði, Iceland: 2 people.
• Kópavogur, Höfuðborgarsvæði, Iceland: 1 person.
• Selfoss, Suðurland, Iceland: 1 person.
• Keflavík, Suðurnes, Iceland: 1 person.
• Akranes, Vesturland, Iceland: 1 person.

52 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 52 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 4.9 magnitude earthquake hit 2 mins later 20 km (12 mi) south-southwest of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 65 smaller foreshocks. A 3.7 magnitude earthquake hit 7 hrs earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since April 21st, 2024, when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit 247 km (153 mi) further east-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck on February 24th, 2021.

In total, 8 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 year.

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 09/04/25 17:28 (20 hours ago). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000ppa0
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250401_0000250
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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