Jökull - 01.01.2001, Page 81

Accidents and economic damage due to snow avalanches and
landslides in Iceland
Tómas Jóhannesson and Þorsteinn Arnalds
Icelandic Meteorological Office, Bústaðavegur 9, IS-150 Reykjavík, Iceland
Abstract — Snow avalanches have caused many catastrophic accidents and severe economical losses in Ice-
land since the country was settled in the ninth century. The first reported avalanche accident dates back to
1118 when a snow avalanche killed 5 people in western Iceland. Altogether about 680 deaths by avalanches
have been reported in Iceland since then. Unaccounted deaths may be assumed to have been several hundreds,
especially during two gaps a total of 250 years in the written records before 1600. Since 1901 altogether
193 persons have been killed in avalanche and landslide accidents in Iceland. Catastrophic avalanches in the
villages Súðavík and Flateyri in 1995, which killed 34 people and caused extensive economic damage, have to-
tally changed the view regarding avalanche safety in Iceland. These avalanches made it clear that a substantial
number of people in several Icelandic towns and villages live in areas where avalanche risk is unacceptable.
Although extensive evacuations may be used to reduce the risk to some extent, this can only be viewed as a
temporary measure. Avalanche protection measures or land use changes are necessary for a permanent solu-
tion to this problem. Direct economic loss due to avalanches and landslides in Iceland in the 26 year period
between 1974 and 2000 is about 3.3 billion IKR (41 million USD). The total cost of defence structures, which
have been constructed or are under construction in the towns Flateyri, Siglufjörður and Neskaupstaður since
1995, together with the cost of relocation in endangered areas is about 2.5 billion IKR (31 million USD). The
loss includes insurance payments and the cost of rescue and relief operations due to avalanches in towns and
villages, and insurance payments due to avalanches in rural areas (damages to farm buildings, power and tele-
phone lines and ski lifts). Other economic losses, especially due to avalanches in rural areas, are substantial,
but may be assumed to be much smaller than the loss estimated above. A total of 52 people have been killed
by avalanches in buildings, at work sites or within towns during the period 1974 to 2000, while 17 people
have been killed by avalanches and landslides outside populated areas during the same period. If the death
of a person in an avalanche or landslide accident is included in the economic loss as 100 million IKR (1.2
million USD) per fatal accident, the total cost of avalanche and landslide accidents in Iceland in the last 26
years together with the cost of avalanche protection measures is more than 13 billion IKR (162 million USD).
The Icelandic government has drawn up a plan to construct avalanche protection measures for hazard areas
and/or to purchase endangered property in order to reduce the death toll and the economic losses caused by
avalanches in the future.
INTRODUCTION
Snow avalanches and landslides have caused many
catastrophic accidents and severe economical losses
in Iceland since the country was settled in the ninth
century. The pioneering work of Jónsson (1957),
which was updated in 1992 (Jónsson et al., 1992),
lists avalanches reported in annals and other sources
since the twelfth century. It lists predominantly
avalanches which caused damage to inhabited areas
and avalanches which caused fatal accidents.
The first reported avalanche accident dates back
to 1118 when a snow avalanche killed 5 people in
western Iceland. Altogether about 680 deaths by
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