17,000 quakes hit Iceland in a week

NEW DELHI: Authorities in

Iceland

have said that a small volcanic eruption could be imminent on the southwestern tip of country some 30km from the capital

Reykjavik

.

CNN

quoted the Icelandic Meteorological Office as saying that around 17,000 earthquakes have been recorded in the region over the past week, compared to 1,000 normally for a

whole year

. The largest quake of 5.7-magnitude was registered last week. Tremors signalling a potential eruption were also detected on Wednesday, near Mt Keilir, inactive for past 800 years, the Icelandic Met Office said.