The Kolka Glacier flood was one of the most terrifying disasters to\noccur in Russia, in 2002. The collapse of the glacier, also described as\na river of ice, claimed hundreds of lives.<\/p>\n
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration\n(NASA), the disaster took place in the Caucasus Mountains in the\nRepublic of North Ossetia, southern Russia. At around 8pm local time on\n20 September 2002, a mass of rock and hanging glacier on the northern\nslope of Mount Dzhimarai-Khokh broke away and fell on the Kolka Glacier\nbelow.<\/p>\n
The impact was immense. It destroyed the Kolka Glacier and triggered\na huge avalanche of more than 100 million cubic metres of ice, snow and\nrock into the Genaldon River valley.<\/p>\n
The avalanche travelled 18 kilometres at speeds of up to 180\nkilometres per hour. It swept through the Karmadon Depression, damaging\nand burying the village of Nizhniy Karmadon and several other\nsettlements.<\/p>\n
The debris became blocked in the narrow Gates of Karmadon, forming a\nnatural dam up to 130 metres high and creating temporary freshwater\nlakes.<\/p>\n
125 dead<\/strong><\/p>\n At least 125 people were reported dead or missing, buried beneath the\nice and avalanche debris. Because the layers of ice and rock were so\nthick, only 20 bodies were recovered during the rescue operation.<\/p>\n Official reports identified the immediate trigger as the collapse of\nrock and hanging glacier from Mount Dzhimarai-Khokh, which struck the\nKolka Glacier. Researchers identified several contributing factors.<\/p>\n One was the disaster site\u2019s proximity to Mount Kazbek, a dormant\nvolcano. Geothermal activity and sulphur gas emissions (fumaroles) were\nthought to have raised temperatures beneath the glacier, melting the\nlower ice layer and allowing large pockets of water to accumulate.<\/p>\n In addition, two minor earthquakes in the months before the disaster\nwere thought to have weakened the attachment of the hanging glacier to\nthe mountainside.<\/p>\n Researchers classified the event as a collapse of exceptional,\nplanetary scale. It was not merely a seasonal glacier surge.<\/p>",
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