M5.2 Earthquake 115 km SSE of Akureyri, Iceland — January 14, 2025

On January 14, 2025 at 08:05 UTC, a magnitude 5.2 shallow crustal earthquake struck 115 km SSE of Akureyri, Iceland, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 64.6751°, -17.4925°. This earthquake was detected by 117 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 416, placing it among routine seismic activity.

Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 951 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 2.3 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 4 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