An iceberg the size of a hill has drifted close to a tiny village on the western coast of Greenland, causing fear that it could swamp the settlement with a tsunami if it calves.
The iceberg towers over houses on a promontory in the village of Innaarsuit but it is grounded and has not moved overnight, state broadcaster KNR reported.
A danger zone close to the coast has been evacuated and people have been moved further up a steep slope where the settlement lies, a Greenland police spokesman told Reuters.
- Orphaned polar bear to be ‘ambassador’ for Churchill at Assiniboine Park Zoo
- 6.7 magnitude earthquake hits Peru’s southern Andes Mountains, injures 2
- Panama Canal will cap daily transits as El Nino set to reduce water levels
- Impact of extreme heat ‘underestimated’ on those 60 and older: Lancet study
“We can feel the concern among the residents. We are used to big icebergs, but we haven’t seen such a big one before,” Susanna Eliassen, a member of the village council in Innaarsuit, told KNR.
The government and police are on high alert and have moved a search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopter closer to the remote village with about 170 inhabitants.
Last summer, four people died after waves swamped a settlement in northwestern Greenland.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.