Glacial floods disrupt the Ring Road
A glacial flood, originating from Mýrdalsjökull glacier in the south Iceland highland last Saturday, has disrupted the Ring Road (highway no.1), by the river Múlakvísl on Mýrdalssandur in south Iceland, tearing the bridge across Múlakvísl. The road is closed between Höfdabrekka, east of Vík, and the river Skálm, near Álftaver.
Iceland Travel is monitoring all passengers currently travelling with our company.
Our emergency tel. numbers are the following:
- For individual travelers: +354 893 6115
- For groups: +354 8600 402
For those visitors who need to re-route accommodation / itinerary, we will do our utmost to assist in any way possible and minimize potential damage. Each case differs and is reviewed and evaluated on an individual basis, depending on where travellers are coming from, what kind of land arrangements have been made, etc.
The sudden flood knocked out a bridge on the Route 1 highway (see the picture above), leaving the road closed. Authorities have told that that fixing the road is a top priority and the Icelandic Roads Administration is already working to build a temporary replacement bridge. It is hoped the road will open again in two to three weeks time.
In the meantime, specially modified truck and bus will be used to ferry people and smaller cars across the river until a new bridge is ready (see picture on the right). The trucks will be able to carry 30 persons and 2-3 cars on each crossing. The service will be free of charge but only for those using smaller cars that do not have a 4wd. The gap where the bridge stood is ca. 150 meters, and each crossing is expected to take aproximetaly 5-10 minutes.
This means that all travelers can complete the circle route, without any severe complications, but have in mind that it will take more time then usual.
4wd jeeps will be directed through the mountain track "Fjallabak nyrdri" (roads 26 and F208), a rough gravel road north of Myrdalsjokull glacier and through the area of Landmannalaugar. This is a route of amazing scenery but only accessible for jeeps and/or 4wd vehycles. The route is shown on the map below.
All groups and individual travelers are being directed through this track. Groups travelling with Iceland Travel are using coaches that can drive this route, so accommodation plans will not be disrupted. For the individual travelers using regular cars, we highly recomend an upgrade to a 4wd jeep. If needed, Iceland Travel will change client's itineraries accordingly.
The flood on saturday was likely caused by draining of geothermal melt water from underneath the east side of the Myrdalsjokull glacier. Officials have so far made no comment on when the Ring Road will be open for traffic again, but detours are likely to be created as soon as possible.
