Timeline
Friday
Morning
A number of citizens in Innaarsuit have been evacuated from the danger zone to the community center, the day care institution, and the school in the village, head of security Lina Davidsen informed.
People in Innaarsuit can stare directly into a large iceberg that has settled close to the village. It has a hole and a lot of cracks, thus citizens can feel the fear that the iceberg might calve and trigger a tidal wave.
Avannata Kommune’s emergency services, the Greenland’s government and the police are all closely monitoring the situation. The emergency services in the nearby settlements informed that they must be ready if a critical situation should arise in Innaarsuit.
SAR helicopter moved from Kangerlussuaq to Ilulissat to be closer to Innaarsuit. Fortunately, the iceberg has not moved during the night.
Midday
Wind and high tide help the iceberg drift further away from the village. Karl Sværd, police spokesman stated that the inspection ship, Kund Rasmussen is on its way to the area. Jakob Rousøe, head of the operations unit at Arctic Command said that they should be ready if the worst should happen.
Saturday
There was a glimmer of hope on Saturday as the iceberg appeared to have moved slightly overnight. It was reported that the iceberg had moved 500-600 metres further north.
“Fortunately, the iceberg moved further north over the weekend,” said Jakob Rousøe, head of operations for Joint Arctic Command. “Powerful wind from the south and a current headed north pushed the iceberg to the north.”
Sunday
However, this hope was short-lived. On Sunday, local police chief, Aqqaluk Petersen, told Sermitsiaq: “I have spoken to the councillor this morning. He informs me that it was foggy in Innaarsuit this morning and there was no visibility. But now the fog is gone, and the iceberg has not moved since Friday night.”
As a result of this, evacuated residents are still waiting to return to their homes. But Susanne K. Eliassen reports that the villagers are not too concerned. “We feel safe, that’s for sure,” she told Sermitsiaq on Sunday afternoon.
Monday
On Monday morning, there still seemed no chance that the evacuated residents of Innaarsuit could return to their homes. “The iceberg has not moved very much” said Greenland’s Chief of Police, Gideon Quist.
However, following a risk assessment later on, which evaluated the possible waves created by the iceberg’s calving, Greenland’s police decided to reduce the danger zone. This meant that some residents were able to return to their homes. The supermarket, powerplant and fish factory continue to be closed.
“We were very busy at the factory with around 25 employees, but fortunately our fish have been frozen,” said the factory manager, Hans Peter Kristensen.
Wednesday
The latest statement from the news media Sermitsiaq was: “On Wednesday, the police, after consulting the local emergency services, decided that the danger area defined in the coastal area of Innaarsuit will be terminated Wednesday from 1 pm.
The current location of the iceberg is 500-600 meters north of Innaarsuit. This means that Innaarsuit is protected from the iceberg by a wall of rock to the north”.
Effects on the community
Already in the few days since the iceberg appeared, we have begun to see serious effects on the community of Innaarsuit. The village’s only supermarket is located within the threatened area, and has therefore been closed. As a result, there will likely soon be a need to ship extra supplies to the village for the residents that are still living there. Communities in Greenland are incredibly isolated, since towns and villages are not connected to each other by road, so small settlements can only be reached by sea. This makes responding to emergency situations particularly challenging here.
Susanne K. Eliassen says that the fishermen are particularly affected by the presence of the iceberg. “Fishermen cannot go out and fish, and so they cannot trade, because the iceberg poses a danger if it calves,” she says.
Local municipality – Avannaata Kommunia:
Tel: (+299) 70 18 00 | email: avannaata@avannaata.gl
Local police station – Upernavik:
email: grl-upernavik@politi.dk
Local council member – Susanne K. Eliassen:
email: anso1996@greennet.gl
Joint Arctic Command – Press office:
Tel: (+299) 36 40 98 | email: vfk-ktp-a-pao@mil.dk
Greenland National New Media – KNR:
email: news@knr.gl
Greenland Mapping Service – Asiaq:
email: asiaq@asiaq.gl
KNI – servicing settlements in Greenland:
Tel: (+299) 86 23 15