The area for consideration is around the town of Seyðisfjörður (25 km2, about 700 inhabitants). It is representative of other areas of the wider East fjords and elsewhere in Iceland. The small town is known for its many original early 19th-century timber houses and the picturesque setting of the lagoon.
Investigated climate extremes
Landslides have caused many fatalities and extensive damage in Iceland throughout history. Severe landslides occurred in Seyðisfjörður in December 2020, destroying several houses but there was no loss of life. The investigated dynamics are quite common in many other parts of the country.
Main needs
- To improve the monitoring and modelling of rainfall patterns that trigger these events.
- To improve dissemination of data and information to inhabitants.
- To permit a higher involvement of communities in risk identification.
- To improve the modelling of the different components of the risk (e.g., hazard by exploiting monitoring data and exposure by using open data).
