An iceberg approximately one hundred meters high threatens the Greenland coast, prompting local authorities to evacuate residents from the endangered coastal area on Friday, reports the Telegraph.
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The Greenland police have urged residents of Innaarsuit to leave their homes and move away from the coast, fearing that the iceberg could flood the entire area if it breaks apart.
“We fear that the iceberg could calve and cause a major flood in Innaarsuit,” said Lina Davidsen, head of the Greenland police, to the Ritzau agency on Friday.
“Innaarsuit is a settlement in northwestern Greenland with a population of 169, but only those living closest to the iceberg have been evacuated,” she told Ritzau.
“The iceberg is still very close to the village, and the police are considering further steps,” she stated.
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City council member Susanne K. Eliassen told local newspapers that it is not unusual to see such a large iceberg near Innaarsuit, but that this is “the largest” she has seen so far, “and it is full of cracks and holes,” causing residents to fear it could break apart at any moment. She added that the city power plant and fuel tanks are very close to the coast.
“No one lingers on the beach without reason, and we have immediately moved the children to higher ground,” she said.
The discovery of the massive iceberg came a few weeks after scientists from New York University released a video of an iceberg breaking away from a glacier in the eastern part of Greenland.
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“In the last hundred years, there have been more icebergs in this area due to more pronounced climate change. As a result, there is also an increasing danger of tsunamis occurring when icebergs break away from glaciers and trigger a tidal wave.
