| Summary: | Climate change is contributing to shifts in the magnitude and scale of hazards, and the emergence of environmental risks in areas where they were previously unknown. In the Öræfi district of south-east Iceland, a fracture discovered by farmers gathering sheep on the Svínafellsheiði mountainside was the first indication that a large section of the slope was unstable. If the slope fails, the resulting landslide is predicted to contain 60 million cubic metres of bedrock. The debris may remain deposited on the surface of the Svínafellsjökull glacier below; however, there is a chance that the landslide could incorporate ice from the glacial surface, and cause flooding or a tsunami in the proglacial lake. The potential flooding or tsunami represents the main risk for people and infrastructure downhill. The area is a nature tourism hub with approximately 30,000 tourists visiting the glacier each year. An estimated 1,500 people spent time in the at-risk area each day in 2018. This thesis aims to increase our understanding of how disaster risk management is conducted for unprecedented climate change-related hazards. This was done by examining the social dimensions of the unstable Svínafellsheiði slope from different angles including the contribution of local knowledge to newly emerging hazards, the effects of risk mitigation measures on psychosocial wellbeing, risk communication with affected demographics, and planning for relocation. Using grounded theory ethnography, the study incorporates semi-structured interviews, participant observation, complete participation, document analysis, and a review of the literature. Comparisons are also made with landslide-triggered tsunami risk management in Karrat and Uummannaq Fjords of Greenland. The research was conducted between September 2018 and May 2022. This research highlights the need for official risk management processes to engage affected people as decision-makers, mitigate the psychosocial impacts of risk management policies, and ensure that all people living and working ...
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