Increased likelihood of landslides and rockfall due to heavy rainfall

The weather system forecast yesterday is now moving across the country, and intense rainfall has been recorded in several areas, including the East Fjords, East Iceland as far north as Glettingur, and the Tröllaskagi Peninsula. Rainfall has been higher than forecast in many locations, and the system appears to be moving through more quickly than expected, particularly in northern Iceland.

Preliminary rainfall measurements between 02:00 and 14:00 today show 95.4 mm at Dalatangi, 93 mm at Bakkagerði, 66.9 mm at Neskaupstaður, 68.7 mm at Seyðisfjörður (Innri-Botnar), 64 mm at Siglufjörður, 59.5 mm at Eskifjörður and 54 mm at Seyðisfjörður.

The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration has reported a landslide onto a road at Njarðvíkurskriður. This indicates that slopes have become unstable due to the heavy rainfall. As long as the rainfall continues, further landslides and rockfalls cannot be ruled out. For this reason, yellow warnings for landslide hazard have been issued for East Iceland as far north as Glettingur.

The Tröllaskagi Peninsula has now also been added to the areas under a yellow landslide warning following persistent rainfall that has been recorded in Siglufjörður since last night. In addition, snowmelt in the mountains is increasing the amount of water in the soil, which may lead to higher soil saturation on slopes and consequently increase the likelihood of landslides.

As many roads run beneath steep slopes, people are urged to exercise caution, particularly when travelling on routes where there may be a risk of landslides or rockfalls.

The public is encouraged to report landslides and rockfalls to the Icelandic Meteorological Office's Landslide Watch. Reports can be sent by email to skriduvakt@vedur.is or submitted through the online avalanche and landslide reporting form. Please provide the exact location and the time when the landslide or rockfall occurred. If the exact time is unknown, it is sufficient to state when it was first observed. Photographs should be included if available.

All reports are reviewed by the Landslide Watch team and efforts are made to verify them before they are entered into the Icelandic Meteorological Office's avalanche and landslide database.