World1 min(s) read
Published 12:43 21 Oct 2020 GMT
A video has gone viral on social media showing the moment an interview with the prime minister of Iceland was interrupted by a sudden earthquake.
According to CNN, the interview in question was held between prime minister Katrin Jakobsdottir and columnist David Ignatius, a reporter from the Washington Post on Tuesday, October 20.
However, while Jakobsdottir and Ignatius were discussing the impact of that the coronavirus pandemic has had upon Icelandic tourism, their conversation was punctuated halfway through by a sudden tremor, rocking the foundation of her home.
Take a look at the video of the quake here:
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The 44-year-old leader of the Left-Green Movement appeared startled by the sudden quake but managed to recover her composure after the shaking ceased.
Jakobsdottir stated: "Oh my god, there's an earthquake. Sorry, there was an earthquake right now. Wow ... I'm perfectly fine, the house is still strong, so no worries."
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In a later post on Twitter addressed to her 27,000 followers, Jakobsdottir stated:
"Spoke with @IgnatiusPost about COVID-19 and how we are dealing with the situation here in Iceland. We also spoke about the heart and soul of the Icelandic people. And then we had an earthquake. I hope everyone is feeling good and steady. [sic]"
Icelandic finance minister Bjarni Benediktsson also took to Twitter that same day, uploading a picture of a fallen ceiling tile from a room in parliament, which he captioned: "That was the biggest earthquake I have ever experienced."
Related - New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern was also interrupted by an earthquake during an interview:
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Per CNN, the 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck on Tuesday, 10 kilometers to the southwest of the coastal town of Hafnarfjordur, near Iceland's capital city of Reykjavík.
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According to Volcano Discovery, in addition to seismological activity, the area is also a volcanic hotspot.
Extreme seismic activity has been recorded along the Reykjanes peninsula, related to magma intrusion in the rift zone.
However, per CNN, this isn't the first time a world leader has had a speech interrupted by a seismic event.
Back in May, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was interrupted during an interview when a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near the capital of Wellington.
