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

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 1st, 2025. Last updated April 27th, 2025.

Under land 41 kilometer from Reykjavík in Iceland, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurred in the late afternoon of Tuesday April 1st, 2025.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Iceland, 41 kilometer (25 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) - Apr 1, 2025 16:54 Universal Time.
Location:	41 km SW of Reykjavík, Capital Region, Iceland. Coordinates 63°53'16"N 22°30'51"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 (7 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 . Located 34 kilometer (21 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 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

Since this main shock, 52 smaller aftershocks were detected. A 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit 2 mins later 27 km (17 mi) south of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 65 smaller foreshocks were detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 7 hrs earlier. It measured a magnitude of 3.7

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 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 249 km (155 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 27/04/25 20:18 (). 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 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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