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Álftaver’s experience of the 1918 Katla eruption
she could not recall putting out the kitchen fire. So,
the men returned, and the others hastened to Herjólfs-
staðir. When the men had ensured that all was se-
cure at Holt, they turned back, but when they reached
the hollow between Holt and Herjólfsstaðir a power-
ful and impassable river cut their path. They turned
back, but the river rose rapidly and soon Holt was
surrounded by glacial water and they were trapped
(Bjarnason 1985).
Around 40 people sheltered at Herjólfsstaðir
overnight, (residents from the two farmhouses at
Herjólfsstaðir plus those from Holt except the two
people who were trapped in Holt). They looked to
each other for emotional support; people said that
it was as though the sky had been in a wild dance
that threatened their very existence, screaming thun-
der, thuds and flickers of light. When the lightning lit
the sky, it was like glittering lines that flashed across
the tops of the charged cumulus clouds lighting up the
entire surroundings for just a moment. However, it is
likely that the loud murmur of water which emanated
from all parts of the flood that coursed around Álfta-
ver, close to the farms and distant, was the greatest
cause of terror and horror for the people (Bjarnason
1985).
At Skálmarbær, a farm close to the river Skálm,
Sigríður Gísladóttir was home alone with her two
young sons. Sigríður’s husband, Vigfús Gestson was
one of the sheep sorters that was stuck on the other
side of the river Skálm. At that time, Auðunn Odds-
son was visiting in Herjólfsstaðir. After the aforemen-
tioned Vilhjálmur Bjarnason arrived back at Herjólfs-
staðir and announced what was happening, Auðunn
immediately returned to Skálmarbær (Figure 4) as
he knew that Sigríður was home alone with her two
young sons Gísli (5 years) and Gestur (3 years). By
the time Auðunn arrived in Skálmarbær the flood wa-
ter was very close to the farm and Sigríður and her two
sons were very relieved to see him. Auðunn pulled a
boat that was near the farm up the steps to the front
door and promised not to let the flood harm them.
Auðunn continued to keep watch all night, walking
around the home and singing as he monitored the
flood level at the front door. About three o’clock that
night, after having been out to look at the flood level,
he told Sigríður to go to bed with her sons because
the flood had begun to recede and he would continue
to keep watch until daylight (personal communication
Þórarinn Eggertsson and Páll Eggertsson, February
22–26, 2021).
In the latter half of the night the sound of wa-
ter seemed to diminish, and people all over Álfta-
ver hoped that the greatest risk of flooding was over.
When day dawned the flood had receded, but it was
evident that floodwater and ice had spread over all the
district’s lowland, which at the peak of the flood had
been like an ocean. Most of the farmhouses in the dis-
trict stand on high ground and were undamaged by the
flood, but a crest of ice and icebergs lay close to the
farmhouses and over much of the lowland (Bjarnason
1985). Although most of the danger had passed after
the first 24 hours, the eruption had not ended. It lasted
for 24 days (Loftsson 1930). Many sheep are known
to have died in the flood, abandoned by the herders
fleeing from the flood.
PRESENT DAY EMERGENCY
RESPONSE STRATEGIES
Due to the danger an eruption poses to the re-
gion, Katla has been monitored for many years (e.g.
Sigmundsson et al., 2009) and emergency response
strategies for jökulhlaups have been in place since
1973 (Friðfinnsson, 2003; Jóhannesdóttir and Gísla-
dóttir, 2010; Bird et al., 2011). Increased earthquake
activity in Katla in the 1990s called for a risk assess-
ment and revision of emergency response strategies
for jökulhlaups (Guðmundsson and Gylfason, 2005).
This included the development of evacuation plans for
all areas exposed4 to jökulhlaup hazards. These plans
were developed by the local civil protection commit-
tee and police in consultation with the Department of
Civil Protection and Emergency Management of the
National Commissioner of Police (DCPEM-NCIP).
The plans were premised upon eruption scenarios pre-
pared by the Institute of Earth Sciences, University
of Iceland (Guðmundsson and Högnadóttir, 2006) for
4“The situation of people, infrastructure, housing, production capacities and other tangible human assets located in hazard-prone areas.”
https://www.undrr.org/terminology/exposure
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