The near-vertical sides of the fjord in this stunning part of the world, hide a rift that is opening up near the summit at the rate of up to 12 cm per year. The risk of landslides is very real and it is estimated that between 10 and 100 million m³ could plunge into the fjord causing a huge wave and immense damage. There is great concern for the villages of Hellesylt and Geiranger which sit along the fjord and could experience tsunami heights of up to 40m should a landslide occur. A number of other villages further out in the fjord system are also in the hazard zone.
Evaluation of Aknes rock slide hazard using event trees
Read more Monitoring and modelling of the Aknes The unstable mountainsides of Aknes and Hegguraksla in Møre and Romsdal in Western Norway poses a great risk due to possibility of sliding out into the fjord and thus initiating a tsunami.