Avalanche Barriers Above an Icelandic Town - 4K Drone Fooatge

[@srstrand01]

The somber music perfectly matches the somber nature of the situation.

[@JustIcelandic]

Thanks, I spent some time finding it but think it was a good mach :)

[@Jordy120]

Stunning footage! The music was great too. Cheers.

[@JustIcelandic]

Many thanks!

[@NormanSurgeon]

...What an awesome planet we live on...! Here I am, sitting and wearing only a pair of shorts, with my windows and doors wide open on a sunny 40 deg C day in Perth, Western Australia, watching a video of your beautiful, freezing winter in Iceland...! ....Thanks for the cool breath of fresh air...!

[@JustIcelandic]

Wonderful, we sure could use some degrees from you :) and greetings to Perth :)

[@petramitchell7162]

Yes, I was thinking the same! Hot and sweaty in Brisbane 😀 . I was just wondering...why is it so still? Where IS everyone. All the cars are parked...no one is driving etc

[@quietone748]

Stunning footage. May the families of those lost keep the memories of their loved ones alive.

[@JustIcelandic]

Thank you

[@twigbird6058]

Stunning synergy between visuals and sound. here..love the creativity in your videos, tàkk.

[@JustIcelandic]

Many thanks :)

[@stebboss7468]

Siuuuuuuuu nice shots my man

[@JustIcelandic]

Appreciate it and welcome :)

[@reginaromsey]

Glad it wasn’t me who had to put those necessary barriers in place! Looks like Switzerland!

[@JustIcelandic]

yes wow, me too :)

[@davidarundel6187]

The barriers make a great deal of sense, considering the angle of the slope & Haveing some information on the required conditions for an Avalanche.

[@JustIcelandic]

Yes it's well protected now :) and thanks for visiting :)

[@doinafred3049]

No matter what season the landscape is beautiful. It is a feeling of peace armony and ..hope. video + music are excellent.👍🌋🌷

[@JustIcelandic]

Thanks a lot :) and welcome

[@fannyandersson3330]

50 shades of grey, and some spots of colours! ❄

[@JustIcelandic]

😂

[@normanlorrain]

Beautiful footage. Nice music. Be careful with your drone, you might trigger an avalanche 😉 !

[@JustIcelandic]

Thanks 😉 and welcome :)

[@deepquake9]

Bless

[@JustIcelandic]

Hæ

[@helenthegrey6662]

Beautiful - thank you

[@JustIcelandic]

Welcome :)

[@therealhellkitty5388]

Beautiful footage and it amazes me, given the acute pitch of the mountainside, that such small structures could divert an avalanche. It’s wonderful to see Iceland with actual ice :-) Thank you for sharing the towns and valleys with us.

[@grendel_nz]

They are designed to hold back, support. Not divert snow. It's used all over Europe and probably North America.

[@JustIcelandic]

Thanks. lot for visiting :) way more to come :)

[@rickc4317]

Beautiful view, thanks Gylfi.

[@JustIcelandic]

My pleasure 😊

[@WhiteTiger333]

Well, obviously they were installed before the snow began, but that is still a very impressive installation on that steep slope! They must have been put up by hand, because what equipment could even be there? And what a lovely land and waterscape.

[@JustIcelandic]

Thanks, they made a road up there, somehow :) you can see it in the beginning of the video, and welcome

[@susanjacquier5358]

I know it's hard to gauge from a video, but would these barriers be enough? I guess it's better than nothing obviously, but to my untrained eye...that mountain looks so large. So sorry for those who lost their lives.

[@JustIcelandic]

There are other barriers lower than the "wire mesh ones" so I'm sure it's enough :) and thanks for visiting

[@RoxnDox]

Those snow fences don’t try to stop an avalanche from moving, they prevent them from getting started. On the upper slopes where it’s flatter, the snow can accumulate, but those fences lock it in place. The snow drifts up against the fencing, so you get piles along those but less snow in between. An avalanche requires an even layering to get the sliding started. By disrupting that, they prevent anything from getting started. On the lower slopes, the steeper terrain keeps the snow from building up enough depth to make a big slide, and any littler ones would not be enough to damage the town below because they don’t have the mass to get going very far…

[@susanjacquier5358]

@@RoxnDox Thank you Jim....coming from a hot climate, I have no idea about such things. All makes sense now :)

[@leandabee]

Just stunning 😍

[@JustIcelandic]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@georgeb811]

Watching the linked documentaries, it seems this idea of forgetting natural disasters of the past is a common thing in many places, not just Iceland. Today we experienced tornadoes in the US that are currently estimated to have killed over 100. We know that in La Nina years we get the chance of massive fall tornadoes in the eastern US, outside of the usual spring tornadoes in "tornado alley". Why they build buildings that collapse so easily and place so many people at risk is just amazing to me. It seems many of the Iceland casualties from the 1995 avalanches were due to building more buildings closer to the mountain of insufficient strength. Yes, we know that a building can not completely withstand such a huge flood of snow but they can be built in such a way as to reduce the risk to life. Maybe a "strong room" or "strong hall" out of reinforced concrete or sleeping areas built of higher strength material. Maybe the wall of the building that faces the mountain could be built at an angle to allow the snow to go up and over the house and not strike a broad flat surface. I suppose as an engineer I am always thinking about things like this. We need to understand that these events do happen and we can not lose our memory of them and that goes for people everywhere. At least it looks like the people in areas at risk woke up to the danger after 1995 and are putting in defenses. Yes it is expensive and yes, they might not be needed for decades of time, but when they are needed, they save lives. Now the question will be if there is a will to keep these barriers adequately maintained over time or if they are allowed to decay.

[@JustIcelandic]

Yes we are still making barriers since the 1995 disasters, now in Patreksfjörður but things are still not perfect. Like here is a recent video of the Flateyri barriers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/enO3qZKfnshlea8 but you're right, every nations has it's own dangers, and thanks for visiting and sorry for late reply, lost track of the comment section for a while but catching up :) Greetings from Iceland

[@forthedisenfranchised4366]

Lonely centurions out on guard facing all of the extremes. There's a company called Geobrugg, they make some magnificent barriers like these.

[@JustIcelandic]

I think it's gonna hold and there are more barriers closer to town..

[@OldDunollieman]

They are snow fences. Very little protection against a avalanche.

[@JustIcelandic]

There are other structure below them, the fences are just to hold the snow in place for as long as possible :)

[@RoxnDox]

They prevent the snow from getting the even layering required to start an avalanche, disrupting the accumulation on the flatter upper slopes and keeping it from sliding in the first place.

[@Chompchompyerded]

How do they work? It looks to me like they'd not be robust enough to stand up to a large cornice breaking off, but maybe that mountain doesn't form cornices, or perhaps somehow they prevent cornices from forming? I can see how it would prevent big enough slabs from forming though. The snow would have to get deep enough to cover the fences to form a big enough slab of snow to be able to slide and cause much damage. On the other hand, If the snow were blowing off of the top and the winds were continuing downhill, then I'd think the snow would just stack up in deep drifts just behind each fence. I might be mis-understanding the mechanism behind how they work, and am very interested to learn about them.

[@JustIcelandic]

Yes it's another barrier, a thick gravel wall but those upper barriers are meant to keep the snow for as long as possible, and sorry for late reply, missed this one :)

[@denni7173]

Amazing as always! How tall are those upper fences?

[@JustIcelandic]

Thanks, 3.5 meter high👍

[@bondisteve3617]

Thanks.

[@JustIcelandic]

You're welcome

[@Deeplycloseted435]

So how long before it all melts? April? May? Where I live, its usually mid-March when the winter’s snows melt. I went hiking in the Colorado mountains this past Summer, and noticed avalanche damage everywhere. The rangers told me late June was when the snow melts and trails are cleared.

[@JustIcelandic]

It pends a lot on the winters here but yes, April and may is common around there :)

[@sigridurhafsteinsdottir8942]

Fallegt myndband af Sigló, takk fyrir að deila

[@JustIcelandic]

Takk kærlega, Siglufjörður er sannkölluð prýði fyrir land og þjóð :)

[@celeno31]

I love!

[@JustIcelandic]

Merry Christmas to you🎄

[@celeno31]

@@JustIcelandic same to you my friend

[@harrynac6017]

I had to see a commercial of Gordon Ramsay 2 times before I could view this video. It was worth it. And I don't say that easy after being force fed Gordon the Ugly.

[@harrynac6017]

Really, how can people enjoy his food. I get a bad taste in my mouth even only thinking about him.

[@JustIcelandic]

Then you should see this one :) will like it for sure :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZ6ciY2Xhcp6g6s

[@harrynac6017]

@@JustIcelandic The beginning is fun, but I didn't watch 'till the end, that's horror (I don't eat meat).

[@gudjonjonsson4272]

So what town is this?

[@JustIcelandic]

This one, Siglufjörður: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4SumpqpjdKlY7M

[@grendel_nz]

Dodgy place to create a village etc.

[@JustIcelandic]

It's a town the emerged from the herring era :)

[@maingear7452]

What town is it?