Earthquake strikes Iceland, causing some injuries
REYKJAVIK, Iceland: A powerful earthquake shook Iceland on Thursday, rocking buildings in the capital, lightly injuring up to 30 people and forcing residents in outlying towns to evacuate.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit at 3:46 p.m. (1546 GMT), with its epicenter near the town of Selfoss, 30 miles (50 kilometers) east-southeast of the capital, Reykjavik. The Golden, Colorado-based organization earlier put the magnitude at 6.1 but later revised its estimate.
Up to 30 people were in injured in the quake, the Civil Protection Department of Iceland's police said. It said none of the injuries was serious.
Residents in the capital felt buildings shake when the tremors struck and the road between Reykjavik and Selfoss was closed by quake damage, Iceland's national broadcaster RUV reported.
Sharp aftershocks were felt in the southwest of the country, and police traveled around the nearby town of Hveragerdi, 45 kilometers (28 miles) east of Reykjavik, with a bullhorn, advising residents to stay outdoors.
An AP Television News cameraman in Hveragerdi said residents were beginning to pitch tents outside because they were not allowed to return home.
"It was a horrific experience. Everything inside my house is ruined," Sveinn Ingvason, a 51-year-old construction worker, told Iceland's Channel 2 from the town.
Adalheidur Gudmunsdottir, the 52-year-old director of nursing at a clinic in Selfoss, said many of her patients were frightened by the tremors.
"Some of the patients asked to moved outside," she told Channel 2. "The initial idea was to evacuate the clinic ... (but) we decided to move beds from walls and close off the elevators."
Amateur video footage aired on RUV television showed rocks tumbling down the sides of jagged peaks in Vestmannaeyjum, a small archipelago off the southern coast of Iceland.
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 on the Richter scale. It knocked down a dozen houses but caused no serious injuries.
A strong earthquake with magnitude 6.2 hit southwestern Iceland at 15:46 UTC. The epicenter was located 45 kilometers (30 miles) from the nation's capital, Reykjavik.

At least 30 people are reported to have been injured, but so far there are no reports of deaths. Some buildings along the main road leading to the town of Selfoss suffered minor damage, leading to the closure of the road. Almost 6,400 people live in the town.

"People are mostly shocked and scared but no one is seriously injured so far," said Soffia Sigurdardottir, a rescue worker assisting those in need of help. 

"Everything was shaking. The glass in the windows shook and everybody was just really scared," said Audbjorg Olafsdottir, an economist in Reykjavik.

Over 300,000 people live in Iceland. In June of 2000, a magnitude 6.6 quake struck the nation, which had been the country's first major earthquake in 88 years.