Iceland Hit by Another 800 Quakes Overnight

Iceland has been getting rattled with hundreds of minor earthquakes per day in what meteorologists think portends a coming volcanic eruption, and they don't appear to be slowing down. As CBS News reports, the island nation weathered 700 temblors on Tuesday, then another 800 between midnight and dawn Wednesday. What's more ominous: The presence of sulfur dioxide, which indicates magma is not far away from the surface. If the gas is detected while a volcano is not erupting, the USGS says its presence means an eruption is likely coming "soon." Iceland has also increased its aviation alert to orange; volcanic eruptions in the past have wrought havoc with air travel over the country.

The AP notes that the 3,400 residents of the fishing village Grindavik were evacuated over the weekend as fissures appeared in streets and a magma corridor was detected underneath the community. That corridor is currently a little more than 6 miles long and growing. "The biggest earthquakes originated there, under this old series of craters, but since then (the magma corridor) has been getting longer," says geology professor Pall Einarrson. It "went under the urban area in Grindavík and is heading even further and towards the sea." (More Iceland stories.)