Panic Grips Iceland After Volcano Hit By Biggest Earthquake Tremor's In 40 Years

Fears are mounting that one of the biggest volcanoes in Iceland could erupt after it was rocked by two earthquakes.



The quakes – measuring magnitude 4.2 and 4.5 – were followed by some 20 aftershocks, the strongest to occur at Katla since 1977.
The volcano erupted in 1955 and 1999 but has not experienced a major eruption since 1918 when it spewed ash for more than five weeks.

Gunnar Gudmundsson, a geophysicist said authorities were monitoring the situation, which he called a ‘little bit unusual’ but said there was no sign of eruption yet.

‘People have been waiting for an eruption for 50 years,’ he told AP.

Katla, named after an evil troll, is in southern Iceland about 87 miles from Reykjavik.

Flights were grounded in Europe for a number of days in 2010 after Eyjafjallajokull volcano on the island erupted.

In the past, Katla has erupted in tandem with Eyjafjallajokull.

Katia is positioned in the south of the island