Súðavík ( Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈsuːðaˌviːk] ) is a fishing village and municipality ( Súðavíkurhreppur [ˈsuːðaˌviːkʏr̥ˌr̥ɛhpʏr̥] ) on the west coast of Álftafjörður in Westfjords , Iceland .
12-405: On January 16, 1995, an avalanche fell on the village early in the morning (around 6:25 am) and destroyed several buildings, most of them residents' houses. Fourteen people were killed (including eight children) and twelve were injured. Severe snow storms made the rescue work difficult and dangerous. The final survivor was rescued 23 hours after the avalanche had fallen, and the search continued into
24-425: A 14-year old girl alive in the wreckage in critical condition. The last survivor, a 10-year old boy, was rescued 23 hours after the avalanche. In the aftermath of the disaster, the town was moved inwards in the fjord. Several houses still stand in the old part of the town but overnight stay there is forbidden during the winter time. The disaster, along with the 1995 Flateyri avalanche , also raised awareness to
36-404: A 20-hour voyage from Reykjavík through the storm with additional rescue units, medical staff and supplies. At 19:30, a second avalanche, 100 meter wide, hit the town and damaged several unoccupied houses, including the power station, knocking out power to the town. Due to the loss of power, the rescue command and control center is moved from the fish factory to the ferry Fagranes. Partial power
48-483: A distress call from the town, while residents who were unaffected by the avalanche immediately mounted a search and rescue operation and set up a rescue center in the local fishing factory, named Frosti. Shortly later, fishing trawlers owned by Frosti, who were moored nearby due to the weather, attempted to illuminate the area with spotlights, but were held back by poor visibility and inclement conditions. Four individuals were quickly found and 11 others were recused over
60-646: A sea angling company (Iceland Sea Angling) and a tour guide business. The town is also home to the Arctic Fox Center , a museum and research center devoted to the Arctic fox . 1995 S%C3%BA%C3%B0av%C3%ADk avalanche The 1995 Súðavík avalanche was an avalanche that struck the small fishing village of Súðavík in Iceland’s Westfjords on 16 January 1995, killing 14 people, including eight children, and injuring twelve. The disaster, along with
72-422: Is later restored to the factory by connecting it to the trawler Kofri. Around 20:15, the trawler Margrét EA was hit by a rogue wave while transporting rescuers from Dýrafjörður [ˈtiːraˌfjœrðʏr̥] . The wave smashed all windows in the bridge and rendered the ships navigational equipment non-operational, forcing it to abandon its mission and seek shelter. 15 hours after the avalanche, rescuers found
84-506: The area were relocated along with the residents, with the exception of the freezing plant, which continues to operate in a similar manner as it did prior to the avalanche. Many of the properties in the old town are now rented out to tourists in the summer months. The village's main industries now are fishing, fish processing and tourism. As well as the old town's summerhouses, there are several tourist industries operating in Súðavík, such as
96-478: The avalanche cycle that winter. At a public meeting on January 23, 1995, it was decided that the village should be rebuilt at a safer location. The existing properties within the danger zone were sold to the Icelandic government, and construction work on the new village began on August 23. By winter of 1996, 51 new houses had been built, and eight more had been moved from the old residential area. The industries in
108-477: The avalanche that killed 20 in Flateyri later in the year, had a profound effect on the nation and sparked a massive buildup of avalanche dams to protect towns in danger zones. On 16 January 1995, at 6:25 in the morning during a major storm, a 400 meters wide avalanche hit the village, destroying fifteen homes that housed 26 people. Four minutes later, the police in the neighboring town Ísafjörður received
120-432: The dangers settlements in the country faced from avalanches as well as to the psychological trauma the survivors and the rescuers faced in the aftermath. 1995 Flateyri avalanche The 1995 Flateyri avalanche was an avalanche that struck the village of Flateyri in Iceland’s Westfjords on 26 October 1995, killing 20 people. It came 8 months after an avalanche in Súðavík killed 14 people. The disasters had
132-428: The evening of January 17. A disaster relief fund was established, and within a week, the Icelandic public had donated 300 million kroner (about $ 3,000,000) to the relief effort. The same winter, two more avalanches fell from Traðargil [ˈtʰraːðarˌcɪːl̥] , destroying several houses; the areas hit had already been evacuated, so no more people died. Avalanches fell from many other gullies and mountainsides during
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#1732780675865144-526: The next few hours. Due to extremely bad weather conditions, road access to the town was cut off and rescue units, many of them volunteers, had to be brought by boats from Ísafjörður. Two hours after the avalanche, the first SAR members, along with rescue dogs, doctors and nurses, sailed from Ísafjörður with the ferry Fagranes and arrived roughly an hour later. Later in the day, the Icelandic Coast Guard Vessel Týr undertook
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