Iceland's famous Blue Lagoon spa is shutting down for a week after early-morning earthquakes sent guests scrambling

• Iceland's Blue Lagoon spa has shut down for a week.
• A series of earthquakes hit the region around the spa just after midnight on Thursday.

The Blue Lagoon spa in Iceland shut down temporarily on Thursday after a series of earthquakes hit the region.

The quakes hit shortly after midnight, and the tremors prompted at least 40 guests to leave the upscale hotel, The Iceland Monitor reported.. The spa said it will be closed until November 16 at 7 a.m.

"The primary reason for taking these precautionary measures is our unwavering commitment to safety and wellbeing," the spa said in a statement posted to its website. "We aim to mitigate any disruption to our guests' experiences and alleviate the sustained pressure on our employees."

"During this time, Blue Lagoon Iceland will carefully monitor the seismic developments, in cooperation with the local authorities, and reassess the situation as necessary," the statement said.

The earthquakes began on the Reykjanes peninsula, the Iceland Monitor reported, and their effects were felt as far as the town of Borgarnes, which is 83 miles away from the peninsula. The Iceland Monitor added that the Icelandic Meteorological Office clocked about 200 earthquakes since they began after midnight.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office has documented 23,000 small earthquakes since late October.

The earthquake that was detected shortly after midnight had a magnitude of 5.0, the largest since increased activity began in the region, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said.

The quakes have raised fears of a possible volcanic eruption in the Reykjanes peninsula. It was dormant for 800 years before an eruption in 2021, BBC reported.