Glacial flood causes road to give way in southern Iceland

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – A glacial flood in southern Iceland inundated a ring road on Saturday, causing a section at one end of the nearby bridge to give way and tear apart, the country’s meteorological office said in a statement.

“It is clear that it is an unusually large flood,” the Met Office said. There were no reports of injuries.

Aerial footage from the country’s coast guard on public broadcaster RUV showed a vast flat area of uninhabited land covered by muddy water, while another video showed a torrent rushing under the bridge on the highway.

The road stretching from the coastal town of Vik south of the Myrdalsjokull glacier to the town of Kirkjubaejarklaustur, some 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) further east, was closed due to the flood, according to the Icelandic Road Administration’s website.

It was not yet clear when the flood would reach its peak, the Met Office said.