M5.1 Earthquake 117 km S of Akureyri, Iceland — October 6, 2024

On October 6, 2024 at 17:56 UTC, a magnitude 5.1 shallow crustal earthquake struck 117 km S of Akureyri, Iceland, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 64.6359°, -17.8257°. This earthquake was detected by 99 seismic stations with good location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 400, placing it among routine seismic activity.

Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 674 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 2.0 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.

This earthquake is part of an ongoing aftershock sequence following the magnitude 5.4 mainshock that occurred 11 days ago 109 km S of Akureyri, Iceland. Since the mainshock, the USGS has recorded 0 aftershocks in this area. Aftershock activity is expected to continue for days to weeks as stresses on surrounding faults redistribute.

The epicenter is located in Iceland, a region characterized by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian plates diverge at 18-25 mm per year, amplified by the Iceland mantle plume. The nearest mapped fault system is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. View all earthquakes in Iceland.

Learn more: Magnitude scale · Aftershock sequences