Massive iceberg approaching tiny village in Greenland

Photo Courtesy – REUTERS

A huge iceberg has drifted close to a village in western Greenland, prompting a disaster in case it splits and the resulting wave swamps homes.

The iceberg is looming over houses on a cape in the Innaarsuit village, but is grounded and did not move overnight, local media say. Local officials say they have never seen such a big iceberg before.

Last year in northwestern Greenland, four people died when a landslide resulted in a tsunami that inundated a number of homes. That disaster is fresh in peoples’ minds, says glaciologist Anna Hogg at the University of Leeds, who also does research in Greenland.

“One surprising thing about many of the seaside communities in Greenland is that despite the marine-based economy, most people can’t swim,” said Hogg. The reason is there is only one swimming pool in Greenland which is in Nuuk, far from Innaarsuit.  They cannot practice swimming in the sea either, due to the freezing cold of the water – she added.

The village is having only 169 residents, who have been evacuated as per Danish news agency Ritzau.

Some experts have warned that extreme iceberg events risk becoming more frequent because of climate change. This in turn increases the risk from tsunamis.

In June, New York University scientists released video footage of a massive iceberg breaking away from a glacier in eastern Greenland.