Some evacuation areas now deemed safe
Many people have had to leave their homes because of the uncertaintly level in their hometowns in the East Fjords in recent days. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
Some 50 residents in addition to those already have had to leave their homes in Neskaupstaður, were ordered yesterday to evacuate their homes as a precautionary measure. Rescue teams went to the houses and informing or assisting people to reach a safe area.
In Neskaupstaður, where heavy rain has been falling onto a deep layer of pre-existing snow, experts fear the amount of snow in certain areas above the settlement. Especially in places where no floods have been reported.
According to a rescue team member who was in the process of leaving the rescue center where Gerpir rescue team has the facilities, the evacuation yesterday was much easier than the one he participated in on Monday when snow was heaviest.
Streets have been cleared, so people can move in on their own instead of being buried by a search team. Today, however, there are water puddles in many places, and people everywhere have tools to clean up the drains.
Óskar Þór Jónsson. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
Checking in at the mass-relief centre
The mass assistance center in Egilsbúð is where people are checking in and employees of the Red Cross are getting information from people. Among other things, there is the need to calculate the need for accommodation in Egilsbúð, but uncertainty now takes over while people check with friends and relatives as they are checking for places to stay.
Residents take evacuation with stoicism
The police in Fáskrúðsfjörður are completing an evacuation of field six in the town due to the risk of avalanches.
A map that show the evacuation in area 6 in Fáskrúðsfjörður. Photo/Sent to mbl.is
This is what field manager and police officer Óskar Þór Guðmundsson from Fáskrúðsfjörður says.
“It is done as a precaution after we inspected the mountain with drones. Then, after the Met Office’s flood watch, the Met Office made a decision to evacuate this plot,” he tells a local journalist from mbl.is.
Guðmundsson says, the town’s residents have taken these instructions with stoic calm, as they are accustomed to the risk of flooding in the area. Seven rescue teams from Geisli in Fáskrúðsfjörður have assisted people in the evacuation.
In addition, a mass help center has been set up in the town’s primary school.
The danger of avalanches still persists in Fáskrúðsfjörður. mbl.is/Eggert Jóhannesson
