Swedish Town Uproots to Save Itself From Disaster

"The Kiruna citizens are saying, 'We need the mine, and if we want the mine, we have to move the town,' " Lindberg said. "It's sad we have to move the town, but at the same time it's so important [that] the new town becomes as good or even better, because we want our employees to stay here."

While the city has just completed a 250-page document outlining a timetable and plan for the move, its officials have yet to pin down many specifics. They are still exploring the possibility of moving the town hall intact, and they will likely transport many houses on large trailers.

But they have yet to come up with an exact price estimate for the massive project, which is likely to cost billions of dollars.

"No one actually knows what it's going to cost," said Lindberg, whose company will pay for the bulk of the move. "We don't have to move the whole town in a couple of years."

By 2013, the town plans to move the railway and the residences of 450 people; a decade later, officials hope to have relocated 1,700 to 3,000 residents as well as the high school and hospital. The entire move is due to be complete in 2099, Swedell said.

Kiruna Mayor Kenneth Stalnacke said he and other city officials hope the relocated town can support new high-tech jobs that will attract women and young people to move back after attending university.

"Many young people leave the city to educate themselves and don't come back. That's a shame," Stalnacke said. "We have a political ambition to make this city not so dependent on the mine."

At the same time, Kiruna officials are hoping their move can become a model for communities that will be affected by climate change in the coming decades. The predicted sea level rises will eventually force many cities in the developing world to move tens of thousands of people to higher ground, and Kiruna is organizing a conference in 2008 that will examine how best to do this.

"Why not have this relocation as a good example?" asked Swedell, who has invited former vice president Al Gore to attend but has not heard back. "We are moving because of the cracks; they are moving because of the water coming in."

Staff researcher Rena Kirsch contributed to this report.