The couple Guðjón Harðarson and Hrönn Ólafsdóttir were among the first people to receive permission to return to their home after the evacuation in Seyðisfjörður. They say that the people that had to leave their homes last Friday were kindly greeted.
“I am happy to be back home, but still I am a bit nervous; I’ll admit that. The most important thing is that nobody was injured. Everything else can be mended I think,” says Hrönn. “I got wind of the evacuation just before we were asked to come down to Herðubreið. I stood for five minutes and span in circles around myself until my daughter came home. I asked her what I should bring with me and she told me to bring a toothbrush and a warm sweater. I drew the curtains and left,” she adds. Their grandchildren were excited but well-balanced because of the rush to cross the mountain.
“There was no crying or anything. When you drove out of town and looked in the mirror you kept thinking about what was about to happen. Those thoughts got calmer as they drove across the mountain and for a brief time they were forgotten while they were in Egilsstaðir.” The family, overall 12 people got accommodation in Hotel Valaskjálf in Egilsstaðir. “Half an hour after we left, we had a room there. I was going to pay for us when we left. I was told that my money was no good there and they wished us a pleasant trip back home. Who will pay the bill will have to remain to be seen. We are greeted with such warmth everywhere we go. We were greeted with such kindness.”
The way home went well since they did not have much luggage. “I dread the sight of it. It almost only happened in darkness and we didn’t see anything. I don’t want to return home tonight,” says Hrönn who is born and bred at Seyðisfjörður. They believe that the people of Seyðisfjörður will return home. “We are going to stand together and rebuild,” says Hrönn. “People are optimistic in not having to evacuate again during Christmas. I still think that if another shock would come it would be a big shock for a lot of people,” Guðjón adds. “We rely on our politicians. They have made some statements, they have often made statements but I believe that when there is a crisis like this one, they are true to their words,” they both say but emphasise that the most important thing now is to hug each other tightly and stand together.
Gunnar Gunnarsson. (2020, December 20th). We’ll never forget the greetings that we received (is. Gleymum ekki móttökunum sem við fengum). Austurfrétt. Retrieved from: https://www.austurfrett.is/frettir/gleymum-ekki-mottoekunum-sem-vidh-fengum.