A huge mudslide fell on the road across Þvottárskriður, a stretch of the Ring Road between Höfn and Djúpivogur in southeast Iceland, around 4 am this morning and the road was closed until shortly before noon.

Near the location of the mudslide. Archive photo by Páll Stefánsson.

Drivers are asked to take extra caution while driving through the area, ruv.is reports.

“It is just a giant mound here on the road, four to five meters high,” described Þorleifur Ólafsson, an employee of the Icelandic Road Administration, to ruv.is. “It is among the largest mudslides I’ve seen here for a long time.

There has been heavy rain in the region lately and under such conditions landslides aren’t unusual. Another mudslide fell last weekend but it didn’t extend to the road.

No one was harmed by the landslide but three trucks, including one carrying the mail, were waiting for the road to open. The driver of one of the trucks had arrived at 4 am and reported the landslide.

The Icelandic Meteorological Office has issued a warning because of swelling rivers in the area between Eyjafjallajökull to the East Fjords today; continued heavy rain is forecast.

Click here to read more about the rain and thaw which damaged roads in south Iceland.

ESA