Locals face uncertainty after Swiss glacier collapse – DW – 06/02/2025
06/02/2025
June 2, 2025
A 100-meter-deep layer of rock and ice debris is covering the Swiss village of Blatten after a glacier collapsed from a nearby mountainside. DW's Rosie Birchard traveled to the Swiss Alps to meet with survivors and experts assessing the disaster's aftermath.
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6 days ago
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Inside the Swiss valley partially swallowed by a glacier – DW – 06/03/2025
The dramatic collapse of Switzerland's Birch glacier wiped the village of Blatten off the map. DW spoke to locals and experts about what happened and what comes next. Days after a natural disaster strikes, you often find survivors combing through rubble for their belongings or shoveling mud out of their crumbling homes. You might see prime ministers walking around the zone offering condolences, or rescue crews operating big, mechanical diggers to clear the scene. But the Swiss village of Blatten is caught in a kind of post-catastrophe paralysis. Buried under millions of cubic meters of rock and ice debris, it has been all but wiped off the map. And the site is still too unstable for crews to access, almost a week after the Birch glacier collapsed and swallowed the Alpine idyll. Evacuated resident Daniel Ritler describes the moment the glacier destroyed his hometown as being like 'an explosion' Image: Rosie Birchard/DW "It was like an explosion — like an explosion in my heart," evacuee Daniel Ritler told DW as he looked out over his buried hometown. "We knew immediately that everything was destroyed." "For seconds, there was an emptiness. You could really feel it," he added. "There was still a bit of hope, but as soon as the fog cleared, we saw the catastrophe." Evacuated in time Ritler, who kept sheep and ran a tourism business in Blatten, is staying with friends for now. "We lost our house, our stables, and of course, all those memories. We lived in a little paradise," he said. Though the deluge is thought to have claimed one life, Ritler and the other roughly 300 residents were evacuated in time. And many here feel lucky to be alive — aware that a similar event in a less wealthy country could have wrought even more damage. Injured cow 'Loni' was evacuated along with most residents of the Alpine village days before the landslide Image: Peter Klaunzer/KEYSTONE/dpa/picture alliance We meet him in Wiler, 3.5 kilometers (2.1 miles) from Blatten and the closest accessible point to the disaster zone, which is now serving as a crisis coordination hub. Here, the usual Alpine soundtrack of birdsong and the river rushing down the valley is drowned out by helicopters taking off, transporting scientists and geologists to survey the damage aerially, and assess the risk of further fallout. Mountain populations 'more and more threatened' One of those experts is glaciologist Saskia Gindraux. "We had a lot of rock and silt and sediment going onto a glacier, and this mass caused the glacier to really push forward — and everything just went down the valley," she explained. The unstable mountain face and thousands of tonnes of rocky debris has made it impossible for emergency workers to intervene to stabilise the zone Image: Cyril Zingaro/KEYSTONE/dpa The Swiss scientist told DW that a "coincidence of causes" led to the collapse. "It's hard to say this is linked to climate change and this one is not. It's hard to put a label on an event, but we are facing really high temperatures here in the Alps," she told DW. "It's twice the normal increase of other parts of the world," she added. Alpine glaciers have been retreating for decades, which Gindraux said makes the rock less stable. "That's one cause ... The other one is maybe permafrost that is melting, and the other one, the geology." "With climate change, we saw that the oldest natural hazards, so rock fall or glacier collapse or landslides, etc, they increase in frequency." "The population in the mountains are more and more threatened with these types of events." Fears neighbors 'won't come back' Aside from the hum of helicopters, the streets of Wiler are quiet. Local resident Alex Rieder is packing up his car: Two black bin bags full of clothes and other basics for his neighbors who have found themselves suddenly homeless. "Will they be compensated for the belongings they lost?" he wondered. "That has to happen quickly. Now because people need money to live. Because if they're gone for 10 or 20 years, they won't come back," Rieder told DW. Image: Rosie Birchard/DW Rieder fears for the future of life in this part of the Alps. "There's only one school left in the entire valley," he said. Inside his garage, Rieder shows us masks he helped craft for the local carnival — just one of many traditions dating back centuries here. He knows that if more people leave, this cultural heritage will become harder and harder to hold onto. But asked if he thinks it will disappear entirely, Rieder is defiant. "Traditions will never die. That will be the last thing. Because that's what gives people the most strength." No more evacuations planned No further evacuations are planned in nearby towns or villages for now. But they remain on high alert. Some 45 minutes' drive away in Gampel, flood prevention measures are in place, with some smaller bridges deliberately deconstructed to avoid further fallout. "We now have to see how the dangers develop further at the site of the damage. Rock masses could continue to fall from the mountain — and we have to keep monitoring how the danger develops in terms of the course of the river," regional president Christian Rieder told DW on Sunday. Locals face uncertainty after Swiss Alps glacier collapse To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "Depending on how the danger develops ... we will take further measures," he added. The situation was "stable' on Monday with "no notable changes" at the Birch glacier, according to Swiss broadcaster RTS. But smaller landslides continue, and there has been "no improvement" to allow crews to enter the zone securely. 'We have to find a new purpose' For survivors whose homes and livelihoods are buried in a greyish-brown debris, which authorities say is 100 meters (328 feet) deep in some areas, it's clear there's no going back. From the drivers' seat of his van, with the views of lush mountain landscapes filling the windows and wing mirrors bearing the disaster that unfolded here, evacuee Daniel Ritler told DW it is hard to imagine what life after Blatten might look like. "I built a farm from scratch, always adapting to the challenges of the future," he said, adding: "That was before." "Now we have to find a new place to live and a new purpose. And it will certainly take some time until we can find our way again."
DW
6 days ago
- DW
Nigeria flood crisis worsens amid aid delays – DW – 06/02/2025
Thousands of people have been left homeless and hungry after devastating floods hit central Nigeria. Survivors say help is not coming fast enough. Authorities in Nigeria say at least 200 people are now known to have died from major floods in the country's north-central state of Niger. Hundreds more are feared missing. In Mokwa, the worst-hit area, aid from the federal government has yet to reach most of those affected. Mokwa, nearly 380 kilometers (236 miles) west of Nigeria's capital, Abuja, is a key local hub for traders from Nigeria's south and farmers from the north. The floods, said to be the worst in the area for 60 years, swept through the towns of Tiffin Maza and Anguwan Hausawa after a bout of torrential rain. "A lot of people do not have food to eat. There's no food. There is no shelter. Some people are just hanging around. Some do not even have clothing," Abubakar Hussaini from Humanity First, an internatonal aid agency, told DW. "If you look at the conditions really, people are looking for assistance where they can get shelter, clothing and food." This is despite assurances by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who on Saturday wrote on his X account that aid was to be released with "no delay." "Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing, and all relevant federal agencies have been mobilized to support the state government's efforts," he said on social media. "Relief materials and temporary shelter assistance are being deployed without delay." Growing desperation The humanitarian crisis, marked by food scarcity, homelessness and the dire need for basic necessities has left many stranded. Death toll in Nigeria flooding rises to at least 200 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Aishatu Bello, a retired teacher who lost everything in the floods, expressed anger towards the authorities and the slow speed at which relief is coming. "I have lived all my life here. The situation now, hunger. No home to sleep. There's no shelter," Bello told DW. "We are squatting at a neighbor's house. So it's a problem. We are homeless. We need assistance from the government." Other people are concerned about how they will rebuild their lives. Markets were destroyed and many businesses lost essential equipment in the flood. "I don't know what will happen next. I'm a family man. My fear is where to start again. That's what we don't know. We have never received anything from [the] government," Isaac Abel, a printing company worker who has lived in Mokwa town for 13 years, told DW. On Sunday, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) announced it had started the process of providing relief packages to people affected. NEMA said that roads and bridges were also affected by the floods, which has impacted the local economy and traffic. On Friday, the Nigerian Red Cross released a statement saying the floods had caused "significant loss of life and widespread distress." There are now fears of a disease outbreak in the affected areas, according to Hussaini from Humanity First. "Some dead bodies are yet to be discovered. Up to now, the search is still going on," he said. Flood grant promises under scrutiny Niger State Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has come under fire after appealing to Nigerians on X for donations to help flood victims. Questions have been raised about why the state government is seeking public donations just six months after Bago announced a $10 million World Bank grant would fund flood prevention in Mokwa. During a tour in December, Bago assured journalists that the funds would be used to address flooding in the area. But the same communities that were supposed to benefit from the grant have now been devastated. Residents have expressed frustration over the lack of tangible results from the much-publicized World Bank assistance. "Our people are in danger; they need help from the government. We lost so much," said Tanko Bala, leader of Mokwa's Hausa community. Why is flooding so dangerous in Nigeria? Initial reports had pointed to a dam breach in Niger state leading to the current flooding affecting Mokwa town and surroundings. Over 150 people killed in Nigeria floods To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video However, the authorities have dismissed the dam breach claims saying flooding was worsened by erosion in the affected areas. Nigeria's meteorological agency warned of possible flash floods in 15 of the country's 36 states, including Niger State, between Wednesday and Friday. Floods are common during Nigeria's rainy season, which lasts from April until October and often results in loss of life. A lack of drainage, the construction of homes on waterways and the dumping of waste in drains and water channels all worsen the flooding. Nigeria suffered one of its worst disasters in decades in 2024, with flooding killing more than 1,200 people and displacing another 1.2 million. The flooding, which impacted 31 of the country's 36 states, also destroyed more than 1.4 million hectares (3.5 million acres) of farmland. Edited by: Keith Walker
DW
7 days ago
- DW
Locals face uncertainty after Swiss Alps glacier collapse – DW – 06/02/2025
06/02/2025 June 2, 2025 A 100-meter-deep layer of rock and ice debris is covering the Swiss village of Blatten after a glacier collapsed from a nearby mountainside. DW's Rosie Birchard met with survivors and experts assessing the disaster's aftermath.
