A small glacial flood is under way in Skaftá river in South Iceland. The Icelandic Met Office (IMO) warns travellers to stay away from the edge of the water as the flood water is carrying with it geothermal gases which can be dangerous.
From the IMO:
During the last 24 hours, the level of the Skaftá river at Sveinstindur mountain has risen significantly. This suggests that a glacial outburst flood (jökulhlaup) is in progress. It is likely that the flood originates from the western Skaftá ice cauldron in Vatnajökull glacier, which last drained in June 2015; however this is unconfirmed until visual observations are made.
The discharge of Skaftá at Sveinstindur is presently 270 cubic metres per second. The flood is not expected to cause any downstream disruption.
A small glacial flood is under way in Skaftá river in South Iceland. The Icelandic Met Office (IMO) warns travellers to stay away from the edge of the water as the flood water is carrying with it geothermal gases which can be dangerous.
From the IMO:
During the last 24 hours, the level of the Skaftá river at Sveinstindur mountain has risen significantly. This suggests that a glacial outburst flood (jökulhlaup) is in progress. It is likely that the flood originates from the western Skaftá ice cauldron in Vatnajökull glacier, which last drained in June 2015; however this is unconfirmed until visual observations are made.
The discharge of Skaftá at Sveinstindur is presently 270 cubic metres per second. The flood is not expected to cause any downstream disruption.
