Twelve remain without power at Reykjavík caravan site

Twelve people are still living without electricity at the caravan community on Sævarhöfði in Reykjavík, and residents say they are freezing, mbl.is reports. The city also shut off the water around the turn of the month, after terminating an agreement this summer for a caravan site plot in Gufunes.

Bergþóra Pálsdóttir, a spokesperson for the residents, said three people at the community have cancer and another is recovering from heart surgery earlier this year. She described them as being in a vulnerable position.

The residents do not intend to leave, she said, because they have nowhere else to go where they can access electricity. One resident has connected a generator to their caravan.

Pálsdóttir criticised Einar Þorsteinsson, chair of Reykjavík City Council, for his stance on the community. She said no one from the city had visited Sævarhöfði to offer help, despite comments by Þorsteinsson suggesting assistance would be available. Earlier this year, he said the decision to close the facilities at Sævarhöfði followed a request from the fire service.

“He will then have it on his conscience if someone dies,” Pálsdóttir said, referring to Þorsteinsson. She said he should acknowledge mistakes in the matter and added that people with serious illnesses could not endure the situation indefinitely.

Pálsdóttir previously lived in the caravan community when it was in Laugardalur and moved with it to Sævarhöfði. She now lives in an apartment, but said she had enjoyed caravan life, comparing it to living in a small detached house. She added that residents were under constant pressure and did not know where they would spend the next night.