Greenland Villagers Flee as Giant Iceberg Approaches

A huge iceberg heading for a tiny Greenland town has sent villagers fleeing. Per Newsweek, the berg is so big it found itself lodged on the sea floor just beside the town of Innaarsuit, where the around 170 residents fear flooding could occur as chunks fall into the sea. The villagers were evacuated early Friday to a building on higher ground and told to watch for falling ice, which has the potential to displace seawater that, in turn, could inundate the town some 600 miles north of the capital of Nuuk. While residents hope winds help dislodge the iceberg and move it away from their community, the CBC reports that a Danish Royal Navy Ship is standing by to provide assistance.

Last month, another Greenland iceberg made waves both physical and literal. Video of a 4-mile long piece broke off of one of the country's glaciers, in a process known as "calving." While this happens normally on a much smaller scale, New York University professor David Holland told the AP it was "the largest event we've seen in over a decade in Greenland." In fact, Holland went on to say that video he and his wife took of the June 22 incident shows a full three percent of the island's annual ice loss occur in mere minutes. (More icebergs stories.)