Last week, a gigantic chunk of a glacier in the Swiss Alps broke off. This historic disaster had immense consequences for the small Alpine village of Blatten, in the Lötschental valley of southern Switzerland. On May 19, nature turned lethal. Only a day earlier, responding to ominous signs of danger, local authorities had wisely evacuated the village’s roughly 300 residents.
On May 18, state geologists alerted officials to an impending avalanche. A huge agglomeration of stone and ice towered above Blatten. Their warnings turned dire after a landslide happened the same day, prompting authorities to take emergency action. Yet residents were quickly evacuated to protect them as the threat became more and more dangerous.
The next day, the glacier released an enormous area of its ice cap. It created a huge plume of sediment, sending it cascading over one side of the mountain. The failure released an incredible flow of ice, mud, and rock. This gravitating torrent overwhelmed the village of Blatten, covering it under three meters of debris. Smaller wooden buildings were damaged as shattered wooden buildings littered the space. They’re dramatic illustrations of the village’s past layout. Now, mud and earth completely blanket about a third of Blatten. The river that used to run right through the area is now totally covered.
Local officials have painted the situation as apocalyptic. Matthias Ebener, a spokesperson for the region, remarked on the sheer scale of destruction, stating that “an unbelievable amount of material thundered down into the valley.” The devastation didn’t stop at the edge of the village; the steep, wooded hillsides that sheltered the valley harbored widespread destruction inflicted by the incredible torrent.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter expressed her sympathy for the bereaved community. We thank her for acknowledging the immense burdens the residents have to endure, in this tragic, avoidable, and precarious time. Local emergency services had urged the public to stay away from the quickly developing, dangerous scenes engulfed by water. They plead with you to stay away, to protect their safety and aid in the continued recovery efforts.