I hardly need to point out what this means.
Earthquake
& tsunami cause major flooding in Greenland
RT,
18
June, 2017
The
western coast of Greenland has been struck with a 4.0 magnitude
earthquake, triggering a tsunami that swept away several houses in
coastal villages. At least four people are feared missing, as a
rescue mission in the village hardest hit by waves is under way,
local police reports.
The
settlement of Nuugaatsiaq suffered the most, with 11 houses being
washed away and the community being left with no electricity. With a
registered population of 101, 78 people have been evacuated to the
town of Uummannaq, the Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation
(KNR) reported,
citing police officials.
Two
people sustained serious injuries, and seven others less serious
injuries, police said. The remaining 23 people may be on vacation, or
have gone fishing or hunting, police chief Bjørn Tegner Bay said,
adding he couldn’t confirm whether there have been any fatalities
Police
urged the citizens of Illorsuit, which also saw the large waves, to
return to their homes, but warned of sirens that would signal people
to seek higher ground in case of aftershocks.
#Tsunami, #earthquake hit early June 19 on #Greenland's NW coast near Uummannaq. More details on our Facebook page. (PHOTO/@sermitsiaqag)
“It’s
not normal that we have such large quakes in Greenland,” said Trine
Dahl Jensen, a senior researcher at the Geological Survey of Denmark
and Greenland (GEUS), as quoted by Aftenposten.
Danish
Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen offered his sympathies to his
Greenlandic counterpart, Kim Kielsen, over what he called “a
terrible natural disaster” in his Twitter account.
With
a population of some 56,000 people, Greenland, the world’s largest
island, has a vast ice sheet which covers around 80 percent of its
area and is particularly affected by climate change.
Tsunami waves damage some villages on the Greenland coast - 4 people missing, 9 injured (2 serious)
Last
update: June 18, 2017 at 1:54 pm by By Armand
Vervaeck
This
damage was detected by our colleagues of the 2017 Earthquake Impact
Database - EID
on Google Docs - Like
EID on Facebook
Message
to people from Greenland : We
have noticed that Greenlanders are reading this article too. We have
opened the comment section below to give you the possibility to share
your experience or those from family members who experienced the
tsunami + eventual additional information you may have heard on the
Greenland TV and radio. We would really appreciate you comment. Thank
you
Update
12:40 UTC:
78 people have been evacuated from the village of Nuugaatsiaq
The Danish authorities did report that 4 people are still missing and that 2 people were seriously injured. 7 others sustained slight injuries.
11 houses haven swept in the water and are gone.
At the moment of the tsunami 101 people lived in Nuugaatsiaq. 23 people are still in the village, the rest has been evacuated to Uummannaq.
Although
we have no registered earthquake in the area, the Danish
seismological service GEUS has confirmed to the Danish press that a
M4.0 earthquake occurred in Greenland. Several villages have been
inundated by the water. One of them the village of Nuugaatsiaq (see
picture) 30 km south of the epicenter of the M4 earthquake.
The
Danish police gives only limited information as they are trying to
find out what exactly happened and how many villages sustained
damage.
Shortly after the news reached Denmark, the authorities have requested the population to go for higher ground.
Greenland
had similar tsunamis in the past. They were often caused by land- or
seaslides.
Except
for the material damage, there is no news of injuries or fatalities
but nothing can be excluded at the moment.
The
Greenland coast is sparsely populated.
Update
13:11 UTC:
The video below shows another wave of water swelling into the
village. Although the video does not give additional details, we
believe that this swelling is not the destructive tsunami. the
hurling sounds of animals is from the huskies who are used by the
Greenlanders for hunting. As per my earlier visit to Ittoqotoormit,
Greenland i remember that these huskies are fixed to anchors, so it
would not surprise me that some dogs may have been killed by the
water too.
The
Google Earth map below shows the steep cliffs in the surrounding
sounds. Additionally the village of Nuugaatsiaq is located on a
plateau with steep cliffs in the background.
Update
09:56 UTC:
The population of the village of Nuugaatsiaq (2010 census 84
inhabitants) have now all been evacuated to the town of Uummannaq
(1200 inhabitants) as the authorities do fear for aftershocks who can
generate additional land- or seaslides.
Update
09:58 UTC:
The probable epicenter location of the earthquake in on the below
photo (we projected 30 km North of Nuugaatsiaq on the map). The
Danish seismological service GEUS had the data but is probably NOT
working on a Sunday as we cannot gather more precise information or
news in their website!
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