Nearly 20 apartments will be built in Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland, to replace some of the housing that was destroyed by mudslides at the end of last year. Local Council Head Björn Ingimarsson hopes the new apartments will be ready this autumn. Houses near the affected area that remain evacuated will be relocated to other parts of the town.
Fourteen houses were destroyed in mudslides that devastated Seyðisfjörður shortly before Christmas last year. In addition to family homes, many cultural artifacts were damaged by the mudslides. Some houses near the impacted area were evacuated permanently: new locations have been found for all of the houses within the town and they will eventually be relocated, Björn stated in a radio interview on RÚV this morning.
“These are houses we want to continue to use, as they have both cultural value and residential value,” Björn stated. The houses’ former residents, as well as those whose homes were destroyed in the mudslides, have all found new housing, either temporary or permanent. Other construction projects are on the horizon for the East Iceland town, including a tunnel that will connect it to Egilsstaðir: construction will begin next year. Björn says the locality hopes to use material from the tunnel to build up an industrial area by the harbour.
Located in a picturesque fjord, Seyðisfjörður is a town of nearly 700 residents and is where the Norræna ferry docks on its trips between Iceland and Scandinavia. Hundreds were displaced by the mudslides last year, which luckily did not cause any injuries or fatalities.
