The situation is better but still some danger of landslides

Heavy rains in the Westfjords have caused numerous landslides in the last 24 hours as you can see on the map here, many roads are closed. Right in the middle of Monday, it was seen where it was headed and yesterday morning roads were closed at Hestfjörður, Langadalströnd, and Djúpvegur Road.

A landslide fell on Eyrarvegur Road between Hnífsdalur and Ísafjörður in the middle of the day and then again just before 5 pm so the road was closed.

This morning the Eyrarvegur Road was opened again, as well as the road around Súðavíkurhlíð.

Not wise to open

The Chief of the National Police in consultation with the chief of police in Vestfjörður later yesterday expressed a level of uncertainty due to landslide and rockfall risk in the north and south of the Westfjords.

Mass aid centers were opened in the primary schools in Bolungarvík and Ísafjörður for those who couldn't get home because it was not possible to drive between Bolungarvík and Ísafjörður.

The community spirit

On Facebook last night people in Ísafjörður and Bolungarvík were offering people to stay with them if they couldn’t get home, so the community showed their solidarity and strength at a time when it matters. The mass aid centers were therefore closed late last night, since they were no longer needed.

Hlynur Snorrason, senior police officer at the police in Vestfjörður, said there were still considerable rain and water on the road yesterday and therefore not wise to open the road last night. The situation would be assessed again today since the weather forecast was better with less rain expected.

Jón Þór Víglundsson, the rescue team Landsbjörg's information representative says rescue teams in the West  attended calls in the West and in the North due to a strong gale wind.

Contaminated drinking water

As we reported yesterday the tap water in Bolungarvík was deemed unsafe for consumption or cooking, due to the water being so muddy that the system couldn't clean it sufficiently. The same situation was in Flateyri, but the residents there could get potable water in a tanker in the afternoon yesterday. The tanker was filled at Ísafjörður as needed.

Jón Páll Hreinsson, mayor of Bolungarvík, also said work is being done to clean the water a journalist caught up with him late last night. He said it looks better and better. He said that as inconvenient as the situation was, they were already used to it.

The water in Bolungarvík is back to normal

Everything indicates that the water in Bolungarvík is back to normal and suitable for food processing and drinking.

This is stated in an announcement on Bolungarvíkurbær's website.

"After the weather conditions improved last night and it stopped raining, conditions changed rapidly in the water supply. It reduced the water in the reservoir and the situation was manageable," says the announcement.

"The water supply staff were at work until the night and started early this morning with good results. All filter equipment works well and all water is irradiated according to all procedures."

It is stated that the next explosion is just around the corner and the town has started to prepare to ensure the water quality.

The town officials will work closely with the Westfjords Health Authority in the coming days in monitoring and sampling.