Dynamic earthquake rupture scenarios and physics-based seismic hazard assessment for the segmented Húsavík–Flatey fault zone, North Iceland

The Húsavík–Flatey fault (HFF) network is one of the seismically most active zones in Iceland. This complex fault system crosses from off-shore to on-shore directly underneath the town of Húsavík and consists of multiple right-lateral strike slip segments distributed across ~100 km. The HFF hosted several historical earthquakes with M>6. The moment it accumulated since last major earthquakes (two M6.5 events in 1872) may result in an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 to 7 (Metzger & Jonsson, 2014), posing a high seismic risk to Húsavík’s community, flourishing tourism and heavy industry. However, seismic hazard assessment (SHA) remains challenging.