A massive glacier is hovering near the tiny village of Innaarsuit in northwest Greenland. Residents had to be evacuated from the danger zone. If it calves, the glacier could prompt a massive tsunami, swamping the town. They're used to seeing icebergs floating around in Greenland, but nothing quite this big. A massive iceberg came just shy of one football field's distance, or about 100 meters, from the shore there on Thursday, and some residents had to be evacuated to hillier spots. Keld Quistgaard from the Danish Meteorological Institute told the Danish Broadcasting Corporation that the berg weighs 8 million to 10 million tons and rises nearly 300 feet in the air above the water. "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 the Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation, or KNR. Just 169 people live in Innaarsuit, according to The New York Times. At least 33 people of them had to be evacuated, as KNR reported. By Saturday, the giant ice flow had moved out from the shore and was sitting about 500 meters from the village, but KNR was still calling it a "special situation," and images showed the town was not out of the danger zone yet. If the iceberg calves, it could prompt a massive tsunami. The iceberg is so big that the European Space Agency caught a glimpse of it from space last week. KNR posted this nearly unbelievable time-lapse video of the giant mountain of ice quietly drifting past town on the state broadcaster's verified YouTube channel on Tuesday, and it looks like Innaarsuit is almost clear of the big threat: It's part of a troubling trend in the Arctic, where the climate is changing twice as fast as it is elsewhere on the planet. The Arctic "shows no sign of returning to the reliably frozen region of recent past decades," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its 2017 Arctic Report Card. In June 2017, at least four people were killed in Greenland when a huge wave came ashore. Four houses were also flushed out to sea after a landslide prompted a tsunami. Watch what happens as just a sliver breaks off from the iceberg hovering near the town, causing a giant wave to head toward the shore and gently rocking the entire mass of ice: Of course, Greenland isn't the only place feeling the heat recently. This summer, temperatures have sweltered across the US, with cities from New York to Los Angeles suffering through stifling heat waves. The Times reported last week that nights were warming nearly twice as fast as days and that it's becoming a potentially deadly problem across North America.<doc-sep>A massive iceberg grounded on the sea floor near Greenland has overshadowed the coastal village of Innaarsuit, where residents fear flooding if the ice breaks apart. Residents have moved farther up a slope from where the settlement sits. "We fear the iceberg could calve and send a flood towards the village," Lina Davidsen, a security chief at the Greenland police, told Danish news agency Ritzau on Friday. Heavy rain is expected in the region until Saturday, and may increase the chances of a major calving event, according to the Independent newspaper in the United Kingdom. Last summer, four people died after waves swamped a settlement in northwestern Greenland, according to Reuters. "There are 180 inhabitants and we are very concerned and are afraid," Karl Petersen, chair for the local council in Innaarsuit, told CBC News. Scientists are studying another, 4-mile-wide iceberg that broke off the Helheim Glacier. Denise Holland of New York University’s Environmental Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, who was collecting data about sea-level change from climate change, took video of the event June 22. Her husband, NYU professor David Holland, told The Associated Press that “this is the largest event we’ve seen in over a decade in Greenland.” The time-lapse video shows “3 percent of the annual ice loss in Greenland occur in 30 minutes,” he said. “It sounded like rockets going off,” Holland said, describing it as “a very complex, chaotic, noisy event.”<doc-sep>A 100-metre (330ft) high iceberg has drifted close to a tiny settlement on Greenland’s west coast, prompting fears of a tsunami if it breaks up. Authorities have told residents of the Innaarsuit island settlement living near the shore to move to higher ground. “We fear the iceberg could calve [break apart] and send a flood towards the village,” said Lina Davidsen of Greenland police. Susanne Eliassen, a member of Innaarsuit’s council, said it was not unusual for large icebergs to be seen close to the community. “But this iceberg is the biggest we have seen ... and there are cracks and holes that make us fear it can calve anytime,” she said. “Nobody is staying unnecessarily close to the beach and all children have been told to stay in areas that are high up.” The village’s power station and fuel tanks are located close to the shore. Police have moved a search-and-rescue helicopter closer to the remote community, which has a population of about 170. The incidence of icebergs breaking free from glaciers is likely to become more common, said William Colgan, a Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland researcher. “Iceberg production in Greenland has been increasing in the past 100 years as climate change has become stronger,” he said, while the rising number of icebergs were in turn “increasing the tsunami hazards”. Last year, four people died and 11 were injured after a landslide caused a tsunami off another island settlement called Nuugaatsiaq, sending several houses crashing into the sea. 00:21 Huge iceberg threatens small Greenland village with tsunami - video The latest incident comes after scientists at New York University released a time-lapse video of a massive iceberg breaking free from a glacier in eastern Greenland last month. Denise Holland, of NYU’s environmental fluid dynamics laboratory, and David Holland, an expert in atmospheric and ocean science, had camped by the Helheim glacier for weeks to collect data to better project sea level changes due to global warming. David Holland said it was “the largest event we’ve seen in over a decade in Greenland”. The video, which is 20 times faster than real time, shows 3% of the annual ice loss of Greenland occuring in 30 minutes. “It sounded like rockets going off,” David Holland said, describing it as “a very complex, chaotic, noisy event”. While the couple is studying Greenland, he said that “the real concern is in Antarctica, where everything is so big the stakes are much higher”.<doc-sep>A massive iceberg drifting near the coast of Greenland has triggered fears of flooding if it breaks up, leading the authorities to evacuate a high-risk zone. The authorities have urged residents of the Innarsuit island settlement with houses on a promontory to move away from the shore over fears that the iceberg, which was spotted on Thursday, could swamp the area. "We fear the iceberg could calve and send a flood towards the village," Lina Davidsen, a security chief at the Greenland police, told Danish news agency Ritzau on Friday. The settlement in northwestern Greenland has 169 inhabitants, but only those living closest to the iceberg have been evacuated, Ritzau reported. "The iceberg is still near the village and the police are now discussing what do to next," Kunuk Frediksen, a police chief in the Danish autonomous territory, told AFP.<doc-sep>
A MASSIVE iceberg drifting off Greenland has triggered fears of flooding if it breaks up, leading the authorities to evacuate a high-risk zone. The authorities have urged residents of the Innaarsuit island settlement with houses on a promontory to move away from the shore over fears that the 100-metre (over 300 feet) high iceberg, which was spotted on Thursday, could swamp the area. “We fear the iceberg could calve and send a flood towards the village,” Lina Davidsen, a security chief at the Greenland police, told Danish news agency Ritzau on Friday. The settlement in northwestern Greenland has 169 inhabitants, but only those living closest to the iceberg have been evacuated, Ritzau reported. “The iceberg is still near the village and the police are now discussing what do to next,” Kunuk Frediksen, a police chief in the Danish autonomous territory, told AFP. Greenland village on high alert as 'massive' iceberg looms Residents in Innaarsuit are on standby for evacuation because a giant iceberg is looming over the island community in northwestern Greenland. The iceberg is so big it's grounded on the sea floor. pic.twitter.com/9NDpL39zIq — Brandi Saari (@brandilmelb) July 14, 2018 Susanne K. Eliassen, a member of the village council, told the local newspaper Sermitsiaq that it was not unusual for large icebergs to be seen close to Innaarsuit. The village of Innaarsuit in Greenland has been evacuated because of fears that a massive iceberg, which has grounded in the bay, may split and create a tsunami that would swamp the area. Imagine opening your curtains to this view! 😲 pic.twitter.com/T4rMybbTJV — BBC Radio 5 live (@bbc5live) July 14, 2018 “But this iceberg is the biggest we have seen... and there are cracks and holes that make us fear it can calve anytime,” she said, adding that the village’s power station and fuel tanks are close to the shore. “Nobody is staying unnecessarily close to the beach and all children have been told to stay in areas that are high up,” Eliassen added. The incident comes weeks after scientists at New York University shot and released a video of a massive iceberg breaking free from a glacier in eastern Greenland in June. An expert warned that extreme iceberg events will become more frequent. “Iceberg production in Greenland has been increasing in the past 100 years as climate change has become stronger,” William Colgan, senior researcher at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, told AFP. The angular Innaarsuit iceberg 🇬🇱 has been lurking offshore of the Greenlandic village since late last month. Real risk of tsunami 🌊. Here's hoping it departs soon & without drama. [#Sentinel2 🛰️ @sentinel_hub] pic.twitter.com/bFYPtZJcth — Peter Neff (@peter_neff) July 14, 2018 He said the rising number of icebergs are in turn “increasing the tsunami hazards” which occur when they break away from a glacier and trigger a tidal wave. Last year, four people died and 11 were injured after an earthquake sparked a tsunami off another island settlement called Nuugaatsiaq, sending several houses crashing into the sea.ik/txw