Map showing the different danger zones

The Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management has published a map showing the Icelandic Met Office's hazard assessment, which the police chief in Suðurnes has taken into consideration when planning for people rescuing their valuables fromtheir homes in Grindavík.

The people of Grindavík who have the opportunity to enter the town today have been contacted.

It is important to note that only those who have been contacted by the operational board of Reykjanesbær are allowed to enter the town.

Access to Grindavík for residents will only be by Grindavík road from Reykjanesbraut.

Residents living in the red alert zone

Úlfar Lúðvíksson, the police chief in Suðurnes, says that all those who are allowed to enter Grindavík have been contacted today and that they have already begun to call the residents who are allowed to enter tomorrow. Those who have been called all have in common that they live in the area that is rated as the most dangerous.

The aim is for residents of 90 properties to enter daily, as well as some business owners, but if circumstances allow, an attempt is made to increase the number of people who enter.

Lúðvíksson spoke to mbl.is just after noon, but there was some misunderstanding about which residents and companies would be allowed to enter today and the following days.

Everybody allowed to come today have been contacted

“Today, we’ve contacted those who are allowed to enter the town. The ability of the response teams is that we’re taking in residents of 90 homes in the area today. We’ll continue to do that tomorrow,” he says, adding, “We’re doing the same thing to the companies that enter these areas after 2 pm today. If the response teams have the ability to do more, we’ve been doing it.”

Úlfar mentions that employees of Nettó, for example, have been allowed to enter the area to save valuables.

“Today we’ve started calling the residents who are allowed to enter the area tomorrow. “As we are speaking we’ve started calling the residents who are allowed to enter the area tomorrow, according to the same hazard assessment,” he says. “Today and tomorrow we’re focusing on the residents who live in the area that is considered the most dangerous,” he says, referring to the so-called red zone.

Prioritize according to valuables

When asked how the priorities are being set for companies to enter the region, Lúðvíksson says: “We look first and last at valuables that can be lost if they aren’t saved in a timely manner.”

He says that there has not been a problem so far with people who have not been invited to the area showing up in large numbers. There have been some isolated cases, but not many.