MEGA-TSUNAMI caused by LANDSLIDE devastates village | Greenland, Nuugaatsiaq
ID: LIS-01-0148
Format: SD
Location: Nuugaatsiaq, Greenland
Description

Shocking video captures the impact when one of the tallest tsunamis recorded in history hits and devastates the village of Nuugaatsiaq (Greenland) in the late evening hours, causing four deaths. In the evening of June 17th, 2017 (at about 9:40 pm local time), a gigantic landslide (measuring 300 m ? 1,100 m = 980 ft ? 3,610 ft) occurred on the southern slope of the Umiammakku Nunaat peninsula. Several dozen million cubic meters of rock and slope sediments fell about 1 km (3,300 ft) into the Kangilleq fjord, which triggered a tsunami that moved westward into the Karrat fjord complex. The tsunami wave, which was initially over 90 meters high (about 300 ft.), reached the small village Nuugaatsiaq with a wave height of about ten meters (about 30 ft.). It took the catastrophic wave only seven minutes to cover the 32 kilometers distance to Nuugaatsiaq, which means it reached an average speed of 275 km/h. The tsunami dragged four people out to sea, who have since been considered dead. Furthermore, seven people were slightly injured and two people were seriously injured. Eleven buildings were destroyed. Rescue helicopters brought the approximately 200 local residents to the district capital of Uummannaq. In 2018 it was found out that the mountain still slips about 1 cm every day and one could expect another landslide at any time. The risk for this was rated at 11.5 out of 12, making it impossible to end the evacuation. The village of Nuugaatsiaq has since been abandoned. <br /><br />Was the Greenland tsunami a "mega-tsunami"? The Greenland tsunami may be considered as mega-tsunami (or impact tsunami) due to its incredible initial wave height of nearly 100 m / + 300 ft. By contrast to ordinary tsunamis, which usually reach a height of about 30-100 ft. (10-30 m), a megatsunami is a tsunami with an initial wave amplitude measured in several tens, hundreds, or possibly thousands of metres. Megatsunamis are caused by giant landslides and other impact events (including meteorite impacts in an ocean), while ordinary tsunamis are usually caused by underwater earthquakes or volcanic eruptions (which do not normally generate such large waves). Other recent megatsunamis include the wave associated with the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa (volcanic eruption), the 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami (landslide into a bay), and the wave resulting from the Vajont Dam landslide

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