International Symposium on Mitigative Measures against Snow ...

<strong>International</strong> <strong>Symposium</strong> on Mitigative Measures against Snow Avalanches
Egilsstaðir, Iceland, March 11–14, 2008
within a certain area, in terms of avalanche and landslide safety. Nonetheless, over the
centuries, a number of farms have been destroyed by avalanches.
The urbanisation in Iceland has been more rapid than in most of the Western world. During
the years 1880−1900 urbanisation started for real along the seaside, prompted by the fishing
industry.
Before the 1920s, the only plans for the towns in Iceland were impromptu plans by occasional
local governments. In most towns, no plan existed during the first decades of urbanisation.
Therefore, the spatial development of settlements at that time should reflect the view of the
public towards snow avalanche and landslide risk to a greater degree than today. However,
the landowners had a great influence on the development.
Soon after the towns started to form in Iceland, the first big avalanche accidents in urban areas
occurred. In 1885, an avalanche killed 24 people in Seyðisfjörður. It is considered that
between 75 and 80 people were caught in the avalanche which damaged or destroyed around
16 houses. In 1910, 20 people were killed in an avalanche in Hnífsdalur. Some houses,
fisherman huts and sheds were destroyed. In 1919, an avalanche killed nine people and
destroyed a herring factory, two houses and other buildings, in Siglufjörður. The avalanche
occurred on the opposite side of the fjord from where the settlement is now and caused a
tsunami that damaged boats at the harbour in the village.
In general, it can be considered that avalanche history only had a very temporary effect on the
spatial development of towns during the first decades of urbanisation in Iceland. Avalanches
that caused death or major destruction lived longer in the memories of people, or were taken
more seriously than avalanches that caused only minor damage, and that is reflected in the
spatial development. There are quite a few situations where areas within and close by the
paths of large avalanches had become densely populated 10−20 years after the avalanche fell.
The avalanche catastrophes in Seyðisfjörður, Hnífsdalur and Siglufjörður most likely had no
effect on the population development of those towns in general. In fact, all of the towns had a
major increase in population in the years after the accident, which was driven by booms in the
fishing industry.
THE EFFECT OF PLANNING
The first planning laws were approved in 1921 and were valid for all towns and fishing
villages with more than 500 inhabitants (Líndal, 1982). A planning commission was founded
by the government. The commission hired specialists for the survey part, but the commission
itself was involved in most of the planning reports.
The planning committee in many cases took natural hazards into account in their plans.
According to the laws, it was obligatory to identify areas with avalanche hazard on the
planning maps, however, no frame of reference was given. In practice, houses were not
planned in areas where the commission knew about avalanches. It is not known how careful
the commission was in obtaining historical records, but it is likely that it was mostly in the
form of conversations with local people. In some cases, the first plans were an attempt to
move towns towards greater safety, especially where it was known that large avalanches had
caused damage in the area. However, there has not always been an agreement between local
governments and the commission on these matters.
158 The effect of avalanches on the spatial development of settlements in Iceland