SULEQATIGIIPPUGUT (Greenlandic for 'we collaborate') – Building capacities for integrated management of natural hazards and risks in Greenland
Université de Genève
Ministry of Mineral Resources and Justice, Government of Greenland & Greenland Research Council
Lay summary
On 17 June 2017 a rock avalanche in Karrat Fjord, West Greenland, caused a tsunami that flooded and destroyed the nearby village of Nuugaatsiaq, leading to four casualties among the local residents. The tsunami was also observed in other settlements more than 100 km away. The Greenlandic authorities evacuated 170 residents from Nuugaatsiaq and the neighboring settlement, Illorsuit, due to the threat of further rock slope failures in the area; the villages still remain evacuated to this day. The largest of all unstable rock slopes in the area may potentially have a landslide volume greater than ten times that of the tsunami-genic rock avalanche in 2017, and thus could result in devasting run-up heights for several inhabited villages. Against this background, this project aims at:
(i) Exchange knowledge and building capacities in integrated risk management during a visit of Greenland scientists and hazard managers to Switzerland;
(ii) developing joint research proposals on natural hazards and risks, and their management; and
(iii) defining areas for joint education of researchers, emergency responders and authorities.
Details
| Regional focus | Arctic |
| Location | Greenland and Switzerland |
| Funded amount | 24,990 CHF |
| Project dates | 1st October 2022 – 31st December 2025 |
| Category | International Collaboration |