Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the northwest of the north and west of the country has come true. Emergency calls began arriving in West Iceland and the Westfjords in the afternoon.
The mountain roads in the Westfjords are mostly closed, as are the roads over Holtavörðuheiði and in many places on the Snæfellsnes peninsula.
Just before three o’clock, the entire Ísafjarðardjúp ran out of electricity.
“In and around Ísafjörður, rescue teams were dispatched about thirty times within an hour and a half. Around four o’clock there were also reports of a flood in Siglufjörður, where water began to flood the cellars. Lifeguards and the local fire brigade were doing it from around four o’clock “ Says Davíð Már Bjarnason, Landsbjörg’s information officer.
In the afternoon, the police in Sauðárkrókur closed the area near the Sauðá River after it had formed a slush jam. Birgir Jónasson, the chief of police in Northwest Iceland, says the situation is difficult. “We will try to do everything we can to prevent damage and accidents in the event of a flood” Says Birgir. “We do not know what the consequences will be if a mudslide occurs there” – he adds.
“It was very windy, especially in the Westfjords. The wind speed was between 30 and 40 meters per second, and even more in gusts. It was very bad weather “ – says meteorologist Sigurður Jónsson. “The weather will calm down in the next few hours. All alerts should expire at midnight “ – Sigurður calms down. “It doesn’t look like the snow will disappear. There is no warming in sight. We can assume that the snow will stay where it is “ – he adds.
Source: Yle