This is the dramatic moment three fisherman were forced to run for their lives as a tsunami smashed into Greenland.

The remarkable clip, which was filmed on June 17 2017, shows the fishermen trying to secure their boats as a mass of water sweeps into a small bay.

Just when the water seems to be receding, another much larger wave hits and the fishermen run for their lives.

Luckily all three were able to escape just in time.

The tsunami was caused by a gigantic landslide on the southern slope of the Umiammakku Nunaat peninsula.

Several dozen million cubic meters of rock and slope sediments fell about 1 km (3,300 ft) into the Kangilleq fjord, which triggered the wave that moved westward into the Karrat fjord complex.

The tsunami wave, which was initially over 90 meters high (about 300 ft.), reached the small village Nuugaatsiaq with a wave height of about ten meters (about 30 ft.).

It took the catastrophic tidal wave only seven minutes to cover the 32 kilometres distance to Nuugaatsiaq.

The tsunami dragged four people out to sea, who have since been presumed dead.

Shocking moment caught on camera when fishermen got surprised by the incredible power of a tsunami wave which hit Greenland's west coast. Luckily all three were able to escape the wave just in time.

In the evening of June 17th, 2017 (at about 9:40 pm local time), a gigantic landslide (measuring 300 m × 1,100 m = 980 ft × 3,610 ft) occurred on the southern slope of the Umiammakku Nunaat peninsula. Several dozen million cubic meters of rock and slope sediments fell about 1 km (3,300 ft) into the Kangilleq fjord, which triggered a tsunami that moved westward into the Karrat fjord complex. The tsunami wave, which was initially over 90 meters high (about 300 ft.), reached the small village Nuugaatsiaq with a wave height of about ten meters (about 30 ft.). It took the catastrophic tidal wave only seven minutes to cover the 32 kilometers distance to Nuugaatsiaq. The tsunami dragged four people out to sea, who have since been considered dead. Furthermore, seven people were slightly injured and two people were seriously injured by the catastrophic natural disaster. Eleven buildings were destroyed. Rescue helicopters brought the approximately 200 local residents to the district capital of Uummannaq.

The Greenland tsunami may be considered as mega-tsunami (or impact tsunami) due to its incredible initial wave height of nearly 100 m / + 300 ft. By contrast to ordinary tsunamis, which usually reach an hight of about 30-100 ft., a megatsunami is a tsunami with an initial wave amplitude measured in several tens, hundreds, or possibly thousands of metres. Megatsunamis are caused by giant landslides and other impact events (including meteorite impacts in an ocean), while ordinary tsunamis are usually caused by underwater earthquakes or volcanic eruptions (which do not normally generate such large waves). Other recent megatsunamis include the wave associated with the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa (volcanic eruption), the 1958 Lituya Bay megatsunami (landslide into a bay), and the wave resulting from the Vajont Dam landslide (caused by human activity) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megatsunami).

Additional information and insights about the causes and the consequences of this Greenland Mega-Tsunami can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321539366_Karrat_Fjord_Greenland_tsunamigenic_landslide_of_17_June_2017_initial_3D_observations and https://www.highnorthnews.com/en/major-donation-greenlands-displaced-tsunami-victims and here https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/65674nunavut_to_donate_25000_for_greenland_tsunami_relief_effort_taptuna/

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