An iceberg runs aground in Twillingate . . . a regular sight in a normal iceberg season.
27 JULY: A town in eastern Canada is having a bad tourist season because of a shortage of icebergs.
Thousands of tourists flock to Twillingate in northern Newfoundland each summer to see the stately giants float by.
The town bills itself the iceberg capital of the world, but so far this season locals and visitors have seen only one, the Toronto Globe & Mail newspaper reported at the weekend.
"You go to Egypt and you expect to see pyramids", said a local boat tour operator is quoted as saying.
"You come to the iceberg capital of the world and you expect to see icebergs.
"It’s difficult explaining to people that there aren’t any".
The operator says business is down 70% and he’s "hurting big time".
Weather experts are blaming storms to the north of Newfoundland which have pushed icebergs to land, grounding them.
By the time they are small enough to break free, they are melted by warmer waters.
