"We will tackle this together"

The mayor of Fjarðabyggð says that the city’s operational authority is concerned about the weather that will soon be moving over the area, but a break in the weather has created a window to get supplies and such items to their destination. However, if things go wrong, the sea route will remain open. The community has banded together and is dealing with this major task with serenity.

“People are shocked here, of course, but nevertheless, there is good solidarity. We are all taking on this task together,” says Jón Björn Hákonarson, mayor of Fjarðabyggð. He says that it was invaluable to feel people’s support and dedication to the civil defence.

He says the lifting of evacuation plans has certainly relieved mass relief at the relief center, but that few have stayed there.

“We put everyone in place on Monday. The Red Cross in collaboration with Fjarðabyggð managed it, and we put everyone in a place to stay. We used both a hotel and a dormitory here,” says Hákonarson. However, he assumes that there is

Danger does not diminish with bad weather

He says the weather forecast is taken seriously. The town has a good partnership with the Met Office.

“The way the forecast now looks, it’s quite a bit of precipitation, so it’s just a matter of keeping an eye on it. There is a danger, and this will not decrease it, and we’ll just have to see how it develops,” says Jón Björn.

Asked how supplies can be taken if they do not make their way via land route, he says shipping by sea is a possibility.

“We’re lucky that the patrol vessel Þór came to us at the beginning of the night with people and supplies. [The ship] arrived in Norðfjörður and then went to Eskifjörður and is there. The Coast Guard has said that if nothing else happens, Þór will be here in the meantime, so we’ll see how it all turns out. Then we have this natural possibility with transportation to sea from Eskifjörður and over here,” says Hákonarson.

Little else can be done but to watch the weather and monitor the situation.

Feeling of support

When asked how positive and balanced the people in the area seem to be after the floods, he says residents are all in this together.

“There is a wonderful community here, as in the rest of the country, and when something like this comes up, of course we will deal with it together and with a great deal of fearlessness. It was like that on Monday, when I met a lot of people in the relief centre and I could feel the solidarity.

We deal with this situation together, I also think people will find this great solidarity that we have. [...] We have a good community here, standing together here in this regard, both here in Norðfjörður and in the in the whole of the East. We take this on as one and will get through it together,” concludes Hákonarson.