Earthquake near Spitsbergen

On Sunday (September 02), there was a weak submarine earthquake, force 5.2 on the Richter scale. It was too weak to make itself felt in the settlements of Spitsbergen. If at all, then an alert observer in Ny Ålesund, the settlement nearest the epicentre, might have observed the ground motion.

Two days earlier, there was a stronger earthquake near Jan Mayen, which was clearly felt at the station on Jan Mayen and caused some minor damage. The middle oceanic ridge between Spitsbergen and Greenland is a constant source for frequent earthquakes, but only rarely stronger ones. Spitsbergen itself is not an earthquake zone, except a minor earthquake zone in Storfjord, and earthquakes strong enough to be observed by people are rare events.

Source: Lofoten-Tidende