Orange alert in the East Fjords tomorrow and danger of landslides

An orange warning will be in effect in the East Fjords tomorrow, if the weather doesn’t change, due to intense rain. The Met Office warns of an increased risk of landslides in the East Fjords and East Iceland.

A yellow warning took effect at 10:30 AM this morning in East Iceland, with significant rain in the area. Civil protection officials are meeting to discuss the situation later today.

Þorsteinn V. Jónsson, a meteorologist at the Icelandic Met Office, says the increased runoff with the resulting waters in rivers and streams can cause substantial damage today. People are therefore encouraged to clean up drains to avoid water damage.

The rainstorm is expected to move significantly into the evening at midnight and continue until midnight tomorrow.

Roads could be severed by the water

“Today the rainfall is building up and it is accumulating in rivers and in the streets. We are hoping that people will clean up the drains and pay close attention to their homes and the surroundings,” says Jónsson, “but there may be a risk of basements being flooded.

He says that the ground will be drenched overnight and that if the floodwaters overflow on the roads or in the sewers, they can cause landslides that can cause great disturbance.

“Roads can be severed by the water, this is quite a lot. There is a build-up of over 300 millimetres after these two days,” says Jónsson, adding that the Met Office is monitoring the situation.

Civil Protection meets with experts

Jónsson  says he cannot really comment on whether there is a threat to the region, but confirmed that Met Office experts are currently meeting with the Civil Protection regarding the situation.

He believes that precipitation will drop after midnight tomorrow and that temperatures will begin to drop. The wind will come from the north and that snow might be seen in the mountain tops.