Iceland warns of threat of big earthquake
REYKJAVIK | Fri Oct 26, 2012 5:56am EDT
(Reuters) - Icelandic authorities warned people in the north of the island on Thursday to prepare for a possible big earthquake after the biggest tremors in the area for 20 years.
The north Atlantic island, where almost 320,000 people live, is a hotspot of volcanic and seismic activity as it straddles a fault in the earth's surface.
The Civil Protection Department said in a statement that recent small quakes in an area under the sea about 20 km (12 miles) off the north of Iceland had prompted it to issue a warning to local people.
It said such shocks, one of which was a magnitude 5.6, often led to stronger quakes...
