Striking Satellite Images Show Swiss Village Buried by Landslide
On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, a large portion of the Birch Glacier in Switzerland partially collapsed and released a chunk of ice that set off an enormous landslide, largely burying the village of Blatten where, before the slide, about 300 people lived. Images captured of the landslide's aftermath show widespread destruction. Ninety percent of Blatten was demolished, according to several news reports.The town's residents, including local livestock, had been evacuated by the time the Birch glacier fell. Yet, one person is reported missing, according to a press release shared by the Valais local government on Thursday.Police temporarily called off the search for the missing person, a 64-year-old man, Thursday afternoon because of falling debris in the area, the Associated Press reported.Want to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly updates.
The initial landslide deposited a mass of ice and rock several meters thick and over a mile long, according to the press release from the local government. The debris is now obstructing the Lonza River, creating a lake that is flooding the buildings untouched by the initial landslide, the press release also noted.In response to the natural disaster, the local government has requested pumps and tools for debris removal. Recovering the village would take years, local officials said in a news conference on Wednesday, but mayor Matthias Bellwald was defiant."We lost our village but not our lives," he said, according to NPR. "The village is under the gravel, but we're going to get up. We are going to be in solidarity and rebuild. Everything is possible."
In a post on X, Switzerland's president, Karin Keller-Sutter, offered her condolences. 'It's terrible to lose your home. In these difficult times, my thoughts are with the residents of Blatten,' she wrote. Switzerland's glaciers have faced a significant recession amidst warming global temperatures. Since 2000, the country's ice masses have lost nearly 40% of their volume, according to a fact sheet published by the Swiss Academy of Sciences. As these glaciers become less stable, the fact sheet noted, the risk of rockfalls and landslides can increase.'Global warming destabilizes rock faces and slopes which were previously supported by glaciers or a frozen ground,' the fact sheet reads.Striking Satellite Images Show Swiss Village Buried by Landslide first appeared on Powder on May 29, 2025
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