1974 Neskaupstaður avalanches

The 1974 Neskaupstaður avalanches were two avalanches that struck the town of Neskaupstaður in Iceland on 20 December 1974, killing 12 people, including two children.^[1][2]

1974 Neskaupstaður avalanches

Date	20 December 1974
Location	Neskaupstaður, Iceland
Cause	Avalanche
Deaths	12

The first avalanche, around 400 meters wide, fell around 13:30 during the day and struck a fishing industrial site where 5 people died. Due to the bad weather, the site was mostly abandoned but the previous days over 100 people had been working in the fish factories. The second avalanche, which was around 140 meters wide, fell about 20 minutes later, hit a garage, a concrete factory and a residential house, killing 7 people.^[3] 20 hours after the avalanches fell, the last survivor, a 19-year-old boy, was found in the remains of one of the fish factories.^[4] Two were never found and were thought to have been carried by the avalanche out to sea.^[5]

Documentary

In November 2017, Háski - Fjöllin rumska, a documentary about the avalanche, was premiered.^[6][7]

References

1. "Tólf mannslíf - og athafnalíf í rúst". Vísir (in Icelandic). 23 December 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
2. "Miklir mannskaðar í Neskaupstað". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 21 December 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
3. Sigurður Bogi Sævarsson (20 December 2014). "Snjóflóðin tóku 12 mannslíf". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 January 2020.
4. Gunnar Gunnarsson (20 December 2014). "40 ár frá snjóflóðunum í Neskaupstað: Síðan kom ógurlegur hvellur". Austurfrétt (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 January 2020.
5. Gísli Gíslason (18 December 2009). "35 ár frá snjóflóðunum í Neskaupstað". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 January 2020.
6. Gunnþóra Gunnarsdóttir (11 November 2017). "Minningin er brennd inn í barnssálina". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 26 January 2020.
7. "Snjóflóðin sem tóku 12 líf". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 13 November 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2020.