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Isobel van Hagen
Oct 21, 2020
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The prime minister of Iceland appeared shaken, literally, when she was interrupted by an earthquake during a live interview.
Katrin Jakobsdottir was discussing the impact of coronavirus on tourism with the Washington Post when the room she was in started to visibly shake. While she initially appeared startled, she managed to brush it aside and finish answering the question.
"Oh my god, there's an earthquake," she said with her eyes widening. "Sorry, there was an earthquake right now. Wow."
But Jakobsdottir then started laughing, saying: "Well, this is Iceland!" before continuing her response to the question
"Yes I'm perfectly fine, the house is still strong, so no worries," she added.
She later posted on Twitter about the interview: “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.”
Jakobsdottir, 44, has been Iceland's Prime Minister since 2017.
The 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck on Tuesday afternoon near Krysuvik, about 35km south of the capital, Reykjavik, according to The Icelandic Meteorological Office.
While earthquakes are quite common on the volcanic island country, the tremble led to reports of damage around the capital and also briefly interrupted a parliamentary session in the capital.
“The was the biggest earthquake I have ever experienced,” Finance Minister Bjarni Benediktsson wrote on Twitter, next to a picture of a fallen ceiling tile.
People on social media seemed taken with Jakobsdottir calm control of the situation saying, “you handled it like a champ” and “seriously impressive”.
As one Twitter user put it, “Never a dull moment in Iceland!”