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

Saxifrage your thing? Angelica get your green fingers tingling? Well you’re in luck. Today is Wild Flower Day in Iceland (Dagur hinna villtu blóma). The day is widely celebrated all over the country, where volunteers are giving free guided tours around their neighbourhoods, in which they dispense advice on the most common plants that grow there.

The guided tours are free for participants, and there’s no need to register your interest beforehand, just show up at the advertised time at the right place. How widely across the country the tours will be given depends on how many volunteers are available.

The volunteers representing the day are all flora enthusiasts. Many organisations have taken part in the preparations for today, supporting the volunteers, including the Laugardalur Botanical Garden, the Icelandic Touring Association, Hólar University College, the Agricultural University of Iceland, Natural History Museum of Kópavogur, the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, local natural history institutions and the Environment Agency of Iceland.

Wild Flower Day is held each year in all Nordic countries except the Faroes and Greenland, and has been running in Iceland since 2004.

Source: mbl.is

Labels: Environment, Nature

The salmon fishing season officially started this morning on the Norðurá river in Borgarfjörður and Blanda in Húnaþing, but the first catch is yet to be made. The Reykjavík Angling Association was keenly out fishing for salmon on the river, but came back empty handed.

Guðmundur Stefán Maríasson, president of the association, has spotted at least one fish however. The water level has reached a historical low, and has never been so low at the beginning of the fishing season before.

Guðmundur and his friends cast the line out over Brotið, according to tradition, but didn’t spend very long there before moving onto another fishing spot. According to a news reporter for Morgunblaðið, the water level is currently very low in Norðurá, more like it would be at the height of summer. Anglers at the Reykjavík Angling Association say they have never seen the water level so low at this time of year before.

Update: The situation is obviously very dynamic! Just minutes after this post was published, a report reached Morgunblaðið saying that the first salmon has been caught. Bjarni Júlíusson was the lucky angler, landing an 80cm fish.

Source: mbl.is
Image: offiof

Labels: Fishing, Nature

Sources: IcelandReview, Icelandic Institute of Natural History

Labels: Environment, Nature