The police chief in Suðurnes, says that hopefully it will be possible to temporarily allow the Grindvíkings back into the town tomorrow. The town was evacuated today when dozens of residents were there, but the evacuation took 95 seconds.
The Grindvíkings were supposed to be able to visit their homes and remember until four o'clock today, but due to an evacuation order from the coordination center of the National Police, the town was quickly evacuated. It is possible that the organization of such an operation will be revised.
"I assume that our planning for tomorrow, if we enter the town, will be in a slightly different way," says Úlfar Lúðvíksson, police chief in Suðurnes.
He expects that it will be possible to let people back into the town tomorrow, unless the risk assessment changes. It will be available tomorrow, just like possible changes to the organization of the operation.
"We will decide that after the meeting of Civil Defense with the Meteorological Office in the morning. I expect that information to be available from nine o'clock, and then our plan for the day ahead.
Not a reason to cancel what has been done
Grindavík was evacuated earlier today, but before that it had been planned so that the residents of Grindavík who did not have the opportunity yesterday could go into the town to visit their homes and important things. An evacuation order was then received by the police in Suðurnes from the coordination center of the National Police, where gas meters showed that sulfur dioxide was coming up from the ground near Grindavík.
"There was a quick response, and an evacuation was started. It's good to say that this evacuation took 95 seconds," says Úlfar. About 80 to 90 people were in town at that time.
The evacuation was canceled shortly after.
"But from what happened, there was no reason to cancel the evacuation. It's just in our procedure and it's my decision," says Úlfar.