The tiny Greenland's village threatened by the giant iceberg

A huge iceberg is seriously threatening a tiny village on Greenland’s west coast. Indeed, this 100-metre high block of ice could break up at any moment, provoking a tsunami. So, people who live in Inaarsuit are pushed by authorities to leave the shore and go to higher ground, in order to escape from the risk of tsunami.

«We fear the iceberg could calve and send a flood towards the village» explained Lina Davidsen, from Greenland police. According to a member of Innaarsuit’s council, Susanne Eliassen, it was not unusual for a large iceberg to be seen close to the community. «But – that’s what Eliassen said – this iceberg is the biggest we have seen and there are cracks and holes that make us fear it can calve anytime».

A great problem for the 170 people who live in Inaarsuit is that the village’s power station and fuel tanks are nearby the shore, in a very risky situation. So, the police decided to move a search-and-rescue helicopter closer to the village.

William Colgan is a researcher and he works at Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. According to Colgan the iceberg problem will be more common in the future. «Iceberg production – the researcher claimed – in Greenland has been increasing in the pas 100 years as climate change has become stronger, while the rising number of icebergs were in turn increasing the tsunami hazards».

David Holland, an expert in atmospheric and ocean science who is studying this phenomenon, described the state of the situation as «the largest event we’ve seen in over a decade in Greenland».