Iceland Shaken By Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) – 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.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)