Iceberg massive on a village in Greenland: NPR

Scientists say the iceberg is unstable and could pose a threat to the neighboring village.

KARL PETERSEN / AFP / Getty Images

hiding the legend

rocking legend

KARL PETERSEN / AFP / Getty Images

Scientists say iceberg is unstable and could pose a threat to nearby village

KARL PETERSEN / AFP / Getty Images

The photographs are staggering: a giant mountain of ice towers above a small village, with colorful houses reminiscent of small dollhouses against the bluish gray landscape.

But for the people who live in these houses

"It's a bit like living in the suburbs, and you woke up one morning and you looked out, and there was a guitar -ciel next to your house, "says David Holland, an oceanographer. New York University doing research in Greenland during the summer months. "I would be the first to get out of there."

He says that's why the authorities took steps to evacuate the inhabitants of the Innaarsuit village, where the iceberg it's parked just off the coast. According to the BBC, the village has only 169 inhabitants

"In these shallow bays, these icebergs can drift and get stuck, anchored on the seabed," says Holland. "That's what happened to one of these icebergs."

Holland says that this can be very alarming for residents.

"These are small villages with small houses on the shoreline and suddenly icebergs and they look like New York skyscrapers, they are just dominating," he says. "They are very unstable and can break."

Last year, in northwestern Greenland, four people died when a landslide caused a tsunami that flooded a number of homes. According to glaciologist Anna Hogg of the University of Leeds, who is also doing research in Greenland, this disaster is fresh in the minds of people.

"A big chunk of ice may come off this very large iceberg." We know that icebergs are pretty fragile things, they have a lot of fractures through them, "says Hogg. Surprisingly, despite the maritime economy, most Greenlanders do not know how to swim in. Hogg has spent a lot of time researching near the village currently under threat of death. iceberg, adding that this adds to the risk of a tidal wave or flood

"There is only one pool in Greenland. which is much further down the coast than this village we are talking about, "says Hogg. "If you think about it, why would they be able to swim? The water in the ocean is so cold, you can not even get your feet in without it being unbearably icy."

Local authorities and the media are watching over the iceberg: the Sermitsiaq newspaper reports today that it has moved from 500 to 600 meters during the night.

Although the process of glacial glaciation is natural and occurs every summer, the waters around Greenland have warmed in recent decades. that it happens at a faster pace.