Glacier Collapse Sends Tourists Fleeing

A glacier collapses into water in Iceland recently, setting off a huge
wave that sent tourists scrambling for safety. Nobody was hurt. 

Tourists often go to Iceland to see the natural beauty of this Arctic, North Atlantic island. One of the draws are the beautiful glaciers which often calf off into the water.

One group of tourists recently almost got more than they bargained for. One spectacular thing to watch is when the end of a glacier breaks off and falls dramatically into the water. If you get too close, though, it can get dangerous.

Now, forgive me for giving you a salad of alphabetical letters here, but Icelandic locations are notoriously difficult to spell. The video you'll see below took place on March 31 in Jokulsarlon lagoon, part of the Breioamerkurjokull glacier.

Tourists watched as pieces of ice fell off the glacier. Then a big piece fell off, hitting the water and basically causing a localized tsunami.  Everybody had to run for their lives. Spoiler alert: Everybody got out of the way in time and nobody was hurt. The group of people had been previously briefed by tour guides on what to do if a wave approached.

By the way, this video isn't part of a climate change screed, though Iceland, like many parts of the Arctic are affected by global warming. The types of ice falls you'll see in the video are quite normal, with or without climate change.

The type of glacial calving, as it's called, is fairly common in Iceland this time of year, but the one in the video is larger and closer to shore than usual. I love the loud roar the event caused.

Here's the dramatic video: