Súðavík
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Súðavík () is a
fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 m ...
and municipality (Súðavíkurhreppur ) on the west coast of
Álftafjörður The name Álftafjörður () is Icelandic for "swan fjord", and there are some fjords by this name in Iceland. The best known of these are: *Álftafjörður (Westfjords). This fjord is located on the southern side of Ísafjarðardjúp, in the ...
in
Westfjords The Westfjords or West Fjords ( is, Vestfirðir , ISO 3166-2:IS: IS-4) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative district, the least populous administrative district. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coast ...
,
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
.


History

On January 16, 1995, an avalanche fell on the village early in the morning (around 6:25 am) and destroyed several buildings, most of them residents' houses. Fourteen people were killed (including eight children) and twelve were injured. Severe snow storms made the rescue work difficult and dangerous. The final survivor was rescued 23 hours after the avalanche had fallen, and the search continued into the evening of January 17. A disaster relief fund was established, and within a week, the Icelandic public had donated 300 million kroner (about $3,000,000) to the relief effort. The same winter, two more avalanches fell from Traðargil , destroying several houses; the areas hit had already been evacuated, so no more people died. Avalanches fell from many other gullies and mountainsides during the avalanche cycle that winter. At a public meeting on January 23, 1995, it was decided that the village should be rebuilt at a safer location. The existing properties within the danger zone were sold to the Icelandic government, and construction work on the new village began on August 23. By winter of 1996, 51 new houses had been built, and eight more had been moved from the old residential area. The industries in the area were relocated along with the residents, with the exception of the freezing plant, which continues to operate in a similar manner as it did prior to the avalanche. Many of the properties in the old town are now rented out to tourists in the summer months. The village's main industries now are fishing, fish processing and tourism.


Tourism

As well as the old town's summerhouses, there are several tourist industries operating in Súðavík, such as a sea angling company (Iceland Sea Angling) and a tour guide business. The town is also home to the Arctic Fox Center, a museum and research center devoted to the
Arctic fox The Arctic fox (''Vulpes lagopus''), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. It is well adapted to living in co ...
.


References


External links


Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudavik Municipalities of Iceland Populated places in Westfjords Fishing communities Fishing communities in Iceland