Alaskan town could soon be wiped out by rare ‘glacier tsunami’ with wave HUNDREDS of feet tall
A RARE tsunami caused by crumbling mountains threatens to wipe out a sleepy Alaskan city, scientists warn.
Home to nearly 300 people, the remote port town of Whittier may be crushed by waves standing hundreds of feet tall within the next year.
The receding Barry glacier 30 miles (50km) away has destabilised the massive mountainside it supports, Haika Magazine .
Geologists issued a warning in May that, were the mountain to slide into the ocean, it could trigger a deadly tsunami.
"The pending slide poses a unique danger, both for its enormous size, and for the remoteness of the mountain," Haikia Magazine .
The mountain is not linked to any earthquake warning systems, making detection in the event of a collapse tricky.
According to geologists, due to Barry glacier's retreat only a third of a region of slopes near Whittier is now supported by ice.
A huge landslide could occur "at any time" in the event of prolonged heavy rainfall or a heatwave that melts what's left of the dwindling ice.
A tsunami triggered by such a collapse would dissipate crossing the Prince William Sound, an inlet of the Gulf of Alaska.
However, it would still maintain enough power to strike Whittier within 20 minutes with waves standing "hundreds of feet" tall.
"An increasingly likely landslide could generate a wave with devastating effects on fishermen and recreationalists," Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources said in a statement in May.
Whittier, which sits on the edge of Prince William Sound, is a popular tourist destination home with a tiny population.
It acts as the gateway to Prince William Sound's scenic views and hosts an inn, restaurants and firms offering tours by boat.
In summer, as many as 500 people may reside there at any one time. There are only two ways out: By boat, or by a 2.5-mile (4km) tunnel.
In their public letter, scientists warned it was possible that the tsunami could hit "within the next year, and likely within 20 years".
Officials at the Department of Natural Resources and Alaska Department of Fish and Game are urging people to stay away from danger zones in the region.
For now, it's thought the landslide could still be moving slowly, so Whittier won't be evacuated and tourists are still welcome there.
“This landslide has been moving for a few years, and it hasn’t gone down yet,” said Ronnie Daanen, an expert with the state geological division.
“So we can’t say, ‘Don’t go to Whittier.’ But it could happen.”
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