Hydrographers for the Icelandic Met Office announced on Sunday afternoon that a flood started in the river Skaftá in southern Iceland, near Kirkjubæjarklaustur. At the time of publication of the first report the size of the flood was unknown, but a report released later in the evening states that the flood seems to be a small one. It is said to be similar to a flood in the area in 2005.

The source of Skaftá is Vatnajökull, Iceland’s largest glacier, which takes up a large portion of the western part of the country. It is not known at this point exactly where in the glacier the floodwater originated. Residents of Skaftárdalur, the valley which the river flows through, have been informed of the flood. It is thought that the road into the valley may be flooded. There is considered to be no danger to travellers.

The water level has begun to rise at Sveinstindur. Earlier on Sunday afternoon, the water was predicted to reach the mountain lodge Hólaskjól at Nyrðra-Fjallabak by 16:00, and later the municipality of Skaftárdalur at around 18:30. It was also predicted that the flood would reach Kirkjubæjarklaustur, which lies on the south coast. It is unclear from the reports whether this is the case.

Later on in the day, the police in Hvolsvöllur issued their thoughts on the flood. They considered it average, going so far as to say that it is a cyclical event. The image above was taken in 2008.

Sources: mbl.is, mbl.is
Image: genevieveromier

Labels: Natural disasters, Nature, Weather