A huge landslide occurred along the Ring Road this morning between Höfn and Djúpivogur in eastern Iceland, leading to the closure of the affected road, Vísir reports. According to the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (IRCA), known as Vegagerðin in Icelandic, it is expected that it will take a long time to reopen Highway 1 in said area.
There has been ample precipitation in the southeastern part of Iceland over the last twenty-four hours, with yellow storm and rain warnings in effect in the area until this morning. The weather forecast predicted that it would continue to rain until about noon today.
Fréttablaðið reports that work is now underway to clear the road, a large part of which is now covered from the landslide. More information is expected later today.
UPDATE: The road has been reopened as of 14:00 on Wednesday, August 5.
Note: Due to the effect the Coronavirus is having on tourism in Iceland, it’s become increasingly difficult for the Grapevine to survive. If you enjoy our content and want to help the Grapevine’s journalists do things like eat and pay rent, please consider joining our High Five Club.
You can also check out our shop, loaded with books, apparel and other cool merch, that you can buy and have delivered right to your door.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
