Glacial Flood Imminent in Skaftá River

A glacial outburst flood is very likely to occur in Skaftá river, Southeast Iceland, in the next three days, Fréttablaðið reports. The Icelandic Met Office will hold a meeting later today to assess the situation.

A glacial outburst flood, also known as a jökulhlaup, is a subglacial outburst of water usually triggered by geothermal heating and occasionally by eruptions.

“A flood has not begun in Skaftá but we have seen a change in the eastern Skaftá Depressions. The flood will likely begin in one to three days. There is some water running in Vatnajökull [glacier] now,” a specialist from the Met Office told Fréttablaðið.

The last large glacial outburst flood in Skaftá river occurred in 2015.