A tsunami could wipe this Norwegian town off the map. Why isn’t everyone leaving?
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Today, reaching 230-feet deep, the Åkernes crack is growing by as much as three and a half inches a year. It is one of the most hazardous rock fractures in the world. Like nearby cliffs before, part of the mountain will eventually slide into one of Norway’s deepest fjords. But this rockslide will be much larger than anything the region has seen, possibly triggering one of the tallest tsunamis in history, according to one model. At 338 feet (higher than Thailand’s in 2004) it would swallow schools, hospitals, and homes in the lower ports of fjord villages that, along with Åkernes’ old farm, sit within a UNESCO World Heritage site.
It could be months or decades. But the towns at risk are prepared. An early warning system will give them enough advanced warning to safely evacuate, and new drainage technology may potentially stabilize the cliffside.
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Less-destructive early warning models show Åkernes giving way more slowly to a series of slides that, without a buffer between the mountain and ocean, would form smaller, but still dangerous tsunamis.
In either case, the moment the lasers remotely sensing the crack’s every move show even a slight acceleration, up to 10,000 residents living in the fjord villages, including those from Geiranger through Stranda, down to Tafjord, and even up to some waterfront areas in the city of Alesund, will be evacuated and displaced from their homes. Since all rockslides break down prior to collapse, these early warnings should give people enough advanced warning to evacuate before final failure.
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