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Earthquakes in Iceland spark fears of volcanic eruption

Earthquakes In Iceland May Trigger Eruption Of Country's Largest Volcano
Earthquakes In Iceland May Trigger Eruption Of Country's Largest Volcano


On Monday, two 4.5 magnitude earthquakes hit the Icelandic region that is home to the nation's largest volcano, Katla.

Experts are now concerned an eruption of the nearly 5,000-foot-tall mountain is on the way.

See also: Hawaii's spectacular 'smiley' volcano

See also: Photographer gets dangerously close to 'lava lake'


Katla hasn't experienced such an event since 1999, and both that and the activity that occurred roughly 45 years prior were minor.

The last major eruption of the volcano happened in 1918, creating an outburst of ash that persisted for over a month.

Another indication of an impending Katla flare-up is the 2010 blast of neighbouring Eyjafjallajokull.

Generally when the latter blows, the former does the same a year or two later.

At this time, the Icelandic Meteorological Office has not observed any behaviour that suggests Katla is readying for an eruption either large or small.

However, it has not ruled out the possibility and is keeping close watch over the volcano's activities.

A spokesman from the Icelandic Met Office told The Sun: "It is quite a dynamic situation now, in the next hours and days following this, but as we speak at the moment we do not see any signs that there is an imminent hazardous unrest about to happen."

When Eyjafjallajokull erupted in 2010 it caused travel chaos across the globe. The ash cloud that the volcano created meant that a huge number of flights in Europe had to be cancelled.

In 2010, the BBC reported that 'hundreds of thousands of passengers have been affected' and also claimed it was the largest disruption to travel since 9/11.

It was reported that the Icelandic volcano managed to shoot the ash a staggering 11km into the atmosphere.