Monster earthquake rocks volcano on Britain's doorstep amid fears of ash cloud eruption

[RoterTeufel]

Monster earthquake rocks volcano on Britain's doorstep amid fears of ash cloud eruption
 

 
A VOLCANO threatening to choke Britain with a monstrous ash cloud has been rocked by an earthquake.
 
The Katla volcano, which is Iceland's largest, is overdue a violet eruption and has become a hub of seismic activity.
 
 Last month two quakes of magnitudes 4.6 and 4.5 respectively walloped the Katla's fiery peak, sparking fears that it was about to blow.
 
 And now another has hit the ticking time bomb, with the Icelandic Met Office confirming a magnitude 3.9 quake at 1.30pm yesterday afternoon.
 
 Scientists traced the source of the shakes to the south side of the crater, currently buried beneath the Mýrdalsjökull glacier.
 
 Iceland's Met Office hopes that this obstruction would contain the lava for up to 90 minutes in the event of an eruption.
 
 But if it does blow, Brits could be facing a repeat of ash cloud unleashed by the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption.
 
 The ash saw roughly 100,000 flights cancelled amid fears that airborne ash would disrupt airplanes' engines.
 
 The latest quake has not been matched by a surge in volcanic activity, according to the Iceland Review.
 
 However Katla typically erupts every 40-80 years, and as it has not exploded since 1918, it's at least 18 years overdue.
 
 Last month's earthquakes – in the northern part of the volcano – were also the largest to hit it since 1977, according to the Review.
 
 The Icelandic Met Office, which has played down eruption fears, is reportedly monitoring the Katla area day in and day out.