Work was done yesterday to shovel the roof of the houses,
Work was done yesterday to shovel snow off the roofs of the houses, as well as away from a window on the 2nd floor so the building could be entered.
"We've never before had snow on this scale," states Valgeir Þorvaldsson, director of the Icelandic Emigration Center in Hofsós, North Iceland, located in two-story houses that almost disappeared under a thick blanket of snow during the big storm last week.

"When building these houses, it never occurred to us we'd have to shovel [snow] off these roofs. There are, I believe, 9 meters (30 ft) up to the gable of the biggest house, and the roofs are very steep, too," he continues.

When contacted by mbl.is on Monday, he had just finished assisting 30 horses in accessing hay in the deep snow.

"Maybe this is why people emigrated to America," Valgeir ponders.



There is a lot of snow on Hofsós.
There is a lot of snow on Hofsós.
People worked hard shoveling snow off the roofs of the houses on Monday, in addition to clearing second story windows of snow, so they could crawl through them and into the office.

There is an immense amount of snow beyond one of the houses that make up the Emigration Center, Valgeir states. If those huge snow banks start moving, he doesn't believe the house will remain standing. Therefore, it is essential to make sure no one is inside, he adds.

Valgeir states that a great deal of work remains for people to get things running again after the storm and the accompanying power outage - not least for farmers.