Watch: Glacier collapse wipes out 90% of Swiss village with population of around 300; is climate change the trigger?
Dramatic footage of a catastrophic landslide triggered by the partial collapse of the Birch Glacier buried approximately 90 per cent of Blatten, a small Alpine village in Switzerland's Valais Canton, surfaced on the internet on Wednesday, May 28, reported BBC. The shocking visuals have left social media by storm.
The viral videos show massive dust clouds filling the valley as the glacier collapsed, with a torrent of mud and boulders engulfing the hillsides and most of the village, with a population of around 300.
According to the authorities, they had issued a warning earlier this month of a potential collapse for weeks due to visible cracks in the ice.
The population of the village is around 300 residents, and as a warning was issued, the livestock was evacuated. However, a 64-year-old man remains missing, and no deaths have been reported so far.
As per the Cantonal Police of Valais, the search and rescue operation was underway for the missing man, reports NDTV.
Additionally, the Lonza Riverbed was also buried by the landslip, which raised worries about possible floods from water flows that were blocked.
Shocking visuals and images surfaced on social media
The catastrophic glacier collapse is a clear reminder of the Swiss Alps' startling rate of glacial loss due to climate change.
In 2022, 6 per cent of Switzerland's glacier volume vanished, and in 2023, a further 4 per cent did the same, as per the glaciologists who have been monitoring the country's glaciers for years.
Swiss Village of Blatten Buried by Glacier Collapse:A 1.5 million m³ glacier crushed most of the Swiss village of Blatten. Authorities had time to evacuate residents, but a 64-year-old man remains missing.Experts warn of further risks as the glacier debris has blocked the… pic.twitter.com/1WIQ4li4Ai
Is climate change the reason behind the glacier thaw?
Well, a Swiss glaciologist has attributed the accelerating glacier thaw to climate change. According to them, they also warned that it has raised the risk of such disasters.
Not only the Alpine village but also the neighbouring villages have faced partial evacuations due to the current threat of flooding. The estimated 9 million metric tonnes of debris have rendered the village nearly uninhabitable.
NEW: 90% of a Swiss village has been buried after a massive chunk of the Birch glacier broke off and crashed down into the valley.This is insane."We have lost our village, but not our heart. We will support each other and console each other," said the town's mayor.The… pic.twitter.com/4Fu5XfEDAN
It will take years for it to recover now. Matthias Bellwald, the Blatten's mayor, said, "We've lost the village, but not the heart. We will support each other and console each other. After a long night, it will be morning again."
While other citizens are still trying to process what actually happened. While, as per another cantonal geologist, Raphael Mayoraz, said that preparations were done for a natural disaster as they weren't aware of the scale of destruction caused by the glacier collapse.
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