Recent earthquake activity

Earthquakes in Iceland — today and the last 30 days

Iceland sits astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian plates pull apart. Earthquake swarms here are closely tied to volcanic activity, especially on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

Updated 2026-09-05 19:17 UTC

Iceland earthquake activity at a glance

Past 24 hours1M2.0+
Past 7 days2M2.0+
Past 30 days16M2.0+

What the last 30 days look like in Iceland

2 earthquakes of magnitude 2.0 or above were recorded in the last 7 days, down from 12 the week before. In the last 24 hours: 1.

The largest was M4.4 on August 25, 47 km SW of Sandgerði, Iceland, 10.0 km deep.

Nearly all were shallow (less than 70 km down), so even moderate magnitudes can be felt clearly close to the epicentre.

Map of recent earthquakes in Iceland and the surrounding area

Circle size shows magnitude and color shows depth. Select a marker to highlight its event below.

Tectonic settingMid-Atlantic Ridge and volcanic rift zones
Notable earthquake2000 South Iceland earthquake sequence · M6.5
Official local sourceIcelandic Meteorological Office
Early warningNo public earthquake early-warning system — alerts arrive after an event is published

Every recorded event

16 earthquakes of magnitude 2.0+ recorded in Iceland and the surrounding area in the last 30 days.

Both the USGS global catalog and the EMSC European-Mediterranean catalog are used here, deduplicated — EMSC records the small local events the global catalog does not. 14 of the events below come from EMSC.

M 2.9 16 km NW of Hafnarfjörður, Iceland
Depth 4.6 km · EMSC
Sep 4, 2026, 08:18 PM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 3.0 ICELAND
Depth 2.6 km · EMSC
Aug 30, 2026, 03:34 PM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 2.8 ICELAND
Depth 3.2 km · EMSC
Aug 27, 2026, 01:28 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 3.8 51 km ENE of Grindavík, Iceland
Depth 10.9 km · EMSC
Aug 25, 2026, 07:31 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 2.8 51 km ENE of Grindavík, Iceland
Depth 0.0 km · EMSC
Aug 25, 2026, 07:14 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 2.9 ICELAND REGION
Depth 8.7 km · EMSC
Aug 25, 2026, 05:54 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 3.4 49 km ENE of Grindavík, Iceland
Depth 12.1 km · EMSC
Aug 25, 2026, 05:49 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 3.0 47 km ENE of Grindavík, Iceland
Depth 8.9 km · EMSC
Aug 25, 2026, 05:47 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 4.2 33 km SW of Sandgerði, Iceland
Depth 10.0 km · USGS
Aug 25, 2026, 05:46 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 3.3 ICELAND REGION
Depth 1.1 km · EMSC
Aug 25, 2026, 05:38 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 2.9 48 km ENE of Grindavík, Iceland
Depth 7.4 km · EMSC
Aug 25, 2026, 04:11 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 4.4 47 km SW of Sandgerði, Iceland
Depth 10.0 km · USGS
Aug 25, 2026, 03:38 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 2.8 50 km ENE of Grindavík, Iceland
Depth 6.4 km · EMSC
Aug 25, 2026, 03:29 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 2.9 11 km NNE of Reykjanesbær, Iceland
Depth 0.0 km · EMSC
Aug 24, 2026, 06:01 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 2.8 41 km S of Norðurþing, Iceland
Depth 5.0 km · EMSC
Aug 20, 2026, 07:16 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)
M 3.0 48 km ENE of Grindavík, Iceland
Depth 9.8 km · EMSC
Aug 11, 2026, 08:40 AM (local time at the epicentre — UTC)

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Frequently asked questions

Was there an earthquake in Iceland today?

Yes — 1 earthquake of magnitude 2.0 or above was recorded in the last 24 hours. The list on this page is rebuilt every 30 minutes, newest first.

How many earthquakes does Iceland get?

16 of magnitude 2.0 or above in the last 30 days, 2 of them in the last 7. Most are too small to feel; that is normal for a seismically active region.

What was the biggest recent earthquake in Iceland?

Magnitude 4.4 on August 25, 2026, 47 km SW of Sandgerði, Iceland, at a depth of 10.0 km.

How deep are earthquakes in Iceland?

In the last 30 days they ranged from 0.0 km to 12.1 km deep. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly near the epicentre; deep ones are felt weakly over a wider area.

How can I get earthquake alerts for Iceland?

Install the free SeismoWatch Android app, draw a box over Iceland, set a minimum magnitude, and turn alerts on. Alerts are sent after an event is published, so they are not an early warning.

Where does this data come from?

From the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) global catalog and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), deduplicated. Each event links to its own page with the full record.

The strongest earthquakes recorded in Iceland since 1960

The 8 largest events of magnitude 6.0 or above in the Iceland monitoring area, from the USGS catalog. Recent activity is best read against this: a region's ordinary weeks look very different from its worst days.

MagnitudeLocationDateDepth
M 6.941 km W of Siglufjörður, IcelandMarch 28, 196310.0 km
M 6.525 km E of Selfoss, IcelandJune 17, 200010.0 km
M 6.512 km ENE of Selfoss, IcelandJune 21, 200010.0 km
M 6.436 km ENE of Norðurþing, IcelandJanuary 13, 197633.0 km
M 6.38 km N of Selfoss, IcelandMay 29, 20089.0 km
M 6.113 km S of Hafnarfjörður, IcelandDecember 5, 196810.0 km
M 6.052 km NNE of Vestmannaeyjar, IcelandMay 25, 19877.6 km
M 6.027 km NNE of Siglufjörður, IcelandJune 21, 202010.0 km

Coverage and data notes

Events are preliminary, so magnitudes and locations may be revised. This page uses a rectangular monitoring area around Iceland, so border areas and nearby offshore zones can include events outside the administrative boundary. Completeness varies: a national network usually records more small earthquakes than the catalogs used here, so treat the counts as a floor rather than a census.

Event data: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) and, in Venezuela, FUNVISIS. Populated places and time zones: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Preliminary solutions are revised as more observations arrive.