About 17,000 earthquakes have struck the southwestern area of Reykjanes three weeks ago, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office two weeks ago. The biggest quake with a magnitude of 5.6 on the Ritcher scale struck the island on February 24. It was the most intense based on records, and the people in Iceland’s capital city of Reykjavik—as well as the municipalities surrounding it—fear the continuous earthquakes. On February 27 and March 1, two larger earthquakes with magnitudes of over 5.0 struck.

The quakes have caused little harm; however, Iceland’s Road and Coastal Administration has confirmed minor cracks in local roads and rockfalls on steep slopes near the swarm’s epicenter. Reykjavik resident Auður Alfa Ólafsdóttir said that she had experienced earthquakes before but never so many in a row and it was very unusual to feel the Earth shake 24 hours a day for a whole week. She added that it made her feel very small and powerless against nature. Locals in Grindavk, a fishing town, have witnessed the tremors firsthand. Páll Valur Björnsson, who teaches at the local College of Fisheries and is a deputy member of Parliament, said that experiencing continuous earthquakes was difficult but he “had to learn to live with it.”