Terrible day in my childhoods village, Longyearbyen in the Svalbard archipelago at 78*N. 10 houses wrecked by an avalanche. Most of them ripped off their foundations and carried 20-30 yards, and crushed towards each other or other houses.
1 male in his fourties perished, 2 children in serious life threathening condition in hospital, and 8 other people with minor to semi serious injuries. The avalanche came after a hurricane struck the village, and snow banks had built up in the hillside above the houses. Luck was that it happened around 11am and that the storm had subsided, so most people where out and about, and not sleeping in their beds or shelterering inside from the storm.
3 Medical teams from the mainland, 1000 km away as well as SAR crews with search dogs are arriving there now to help the locals cope. The hospital there only has a
GP and a few nurses.
A stern reminder that nature is boss for these people who are 1000km from other people.
Been sitting here with a lump in my stomach and tears in my eyes all day...I grew up right next to the houses that was destroyed...
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/a06d2...rd-archipelago
What the houses used to look like
Here you see the xtent of the avalanche...each house what hit by tens of tons of packed snow
The damage
An overview of the valley side, and wher the house I grew up in.