Iceland shaken by magnitude 6.1 earthquake
Pastor Dale Morgan
Iceland shaken by magnitude 6.1 earthquake*
By GUDJON HELGASON,
Associated Press Writer
REYKJAVIK, Iceland - A strong earthquake shook southern Iceland on
Thursday, causing more than a dozen injuries as it rocked buildings in
the capital, touched off landslides and forced evacuations in outlying
towns, officials and local media said.
Government officials reported that 15 to 20 people from Selfoss, 30
miles southeast of the capital of Reykjavik, were injured in the quake,
none of them seriously. They were taken to a local health center for
treatment.
The U.S. Geological Survey said Selfoss was near the epicenter of the
magnitude 6.1 quake, which hit at 3:46 p.m.
Sharp aftershocks were feared over the next few hours in the southwest
of the country, and police traveled around the nearby town of
Hveragerdi, 28 miles east of Reykjavik, with a bullhorn, advising
residents to stay outdoors.
An Associated Press Television News cameraman in Hveragerdi reported at
least two aftershocks, and said residents were beginning to pitch tents
outside because they were not allowed to return home.
Amateur video footage aired on the national broadcaster RUV television
showed rocks tumbling down the sides of jagged peaks in Vestmannaeyjum,
a small archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. Residents in the
capital felt buildings shake. The road between Reykjavik and Selfoss was
closed by quake damage, RUV said.
Iceland, population 300,000, is a geologically unstable volcanic island
in the north Atlantic.
The country's last major earthquake, in June 2000, measured 6.6. It
knocked down a dozen houses but caused no serious injuries.