Date | 26 October 1995 |
---|---|
Location | Flateyri, Iceland |
Cause | Avalanche |
Deaths | 20 |
Non-fatal injuries | 25 |
Property damage | 17 houses damaged or destroyed. |
The 1995 Flateyri avalanche was an avalanche that struck the village of Flateyri in Iceland’s Westfjords on 26 October 1995, killing 20 people. [1] It came 8 months after an avalanche in Súðavík killed 14 people. The disasters had a profound effect on the nation and sparked a massive buildup of avalanche dams to protect towns in danger zones. [2] [3] [4]
The avalanche fell from Skollahvilft [ˈskɔtlaˌkʰvɪl̥t] at around 4:00 AM, and destroyed 17 houses. [5] 45 people were in the houses hit by the avalanche, 21 managed to escape on their own and four were later rescued alive. [6]