Alpine village is largely destroyed when a Swiss glacier collapses
a year ago
- #natural disaster
- #glacier collapse
- #climate change
- A massive rock and ice glacier collapse in Switzerland destroyed nearly 90% of the Alpine village of Blatten.
- A 64-year-old man is reported missing, and search and rescue operations are ongoing using drones with thermal cameras.
- The landslide buried the nearby Lonza River bed, raising concerns about potential dammed water flows and worsening conditions.
- About 300 people and livestock were evacuated earlier due to fears of the glacier's collapse, which contained 1.5 million cubic meters of ice.
- Swiss glaciologists attribute the accelerated glacier retreat to global warming, with Switzerland losing 4% of its glacier volume in 2023.
- This incident follows previous evacuations in Swiss villages like Brienz due to similar geological threats.