This cache is a „Slá tvær flugur í einu höggi“(„hit two flies in one stroke“). Within a couple of feet of the cache are two signs, one about the FLATBIRDS or the birds of Önundarfjörður, an art instalment scattered around town, 13 paintings of the birds you can see in this area and the sign shows a map of the locations. they are quite astonishing. The second sign shares information about an event that happened here in 2020.
Flateyri is a charming little fishing-town in a stunningly beautiful fjord, Önundarfjörður. But luring behind the beauty is a very dangerous scenario for a natural disaster, Avalanches. The Westfjords in general have seen there fair share of avalanches and while you are traveling through the towns it is easy to spot the ways the towns of the Westfjords have been defined by this luring threat. Most of them have gigantic defences towering over the towns up in the hills, and some of them have gaps in them, very noticable in Súðavík where it is just too dangerous to live.
Flateyri has seen its share of avalanches, luckily most of the times they aren´t powerful enought to reach the town or the defences steer them away. Before the defences where put up two major avalanches fell in 1995 where there where fatalites. That started a program that in the following years resulted in defences beeing built all over the Westfjords.
However in January of 2020, two avalanche fell that where powerfull enought to go over part of the defences and reach the harbour and one house, and in the days before a few small ones had fallen around Flateyri away from inhabited areas. In the house that got hit was a mother and her three children home. The mohter and two younger children where able to get out of the house on their own but the oldest child had to be dug out of her room since it got filled with snow. This was the second flood and therefor Search and Rescue personal where already ready along with able people so help arrived quickly and the girl age 14 was rescued. Her description of the events: „ there where rumble for about two seconds and then the window broke and I was covered in snow. It was like concrete, I could only move an inch, I was able to squeeze my fist and wiggle my head, nothing more.“