Swiss village of Blatten buried by glacier collapse, raising climate concerns

Indian Express

31-05-2025

The village of Blatten in southern Switzerland has been destroyed after a large section of mountain collapsed onto a glacier, sending rocks and ice crashing into the valley.
Scientists had been monitoring the Nesthorn mountain above Blatten and had noticed signs of instability in recent weeks. Small slides of rocks and ice had already begun, prompting the evacuation of all 300 residents and their animals. Officials hoped the danger would pass slowly, but on Wednesday, a massive landslide hit the area.
According to BBC, about nine million cubic metre of ice and rocks fell onto the Birch glacier and into the valley. The impact was strong enough to be recorded by geological monitoring stations across Switzerland.
Blatten was completely buried. Its homes, church, and Hotel Edelweiss were all destroyed. Only the roof of the hotel is now visible above the debris.
Breaking:
A glacier collapse has buried the Swiss village of Blatten under mud. 💔
The Lonza River is dammed and large parts of the town have been evacuated.
Tragic — but thanks to early warnings from scientists, lives were likely saved.#Switzerland #Blatten #ClimateCrisis… pic.twitter.com/ryxn8NlALL
— The Curious Quill (@PleasingRj) May 29, 2025
In the nearby village of Kippel, residents Barbara and Otto Jaggi described the moment the disaster happened. 'There was loud banging, and the lights went out,' Barbara told. At first, they thought it was their chimney repairman, but soon he ran upstairs shouting, 'the mountain is coming.'
Glacier expert Matthias Huss from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich said the disaster was the worst-case scenario. 'I was speechless,' he told the BBC, adding that while Blatten is the most serious event in recent years, it is not the only one. 'We are seeing many,' he said. 'A lot of these events in the last years in the Alps are linked to global warming.'
Experts believe melting permafrost is playing a key role. Permafrost helps keep mountains stable, but as temperatures rise, it thaws. When that happens, the ground weakens, and slopes begin to collapse. Glaciers are also shrinking, uncovering unstable rock faces.
'These changes used to take centuries,' Huss explained. 'Now they are happening in just a few decades.'
Although the village had been evacuated in time and no major injuries were reported, one man aged 64 is missing. Authorities say the clean-up is on hold as the debris has blocked the River Lonza, creating a flood risk for other villages like Wiler and Kippel.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter visited the area and met with people who had lost their homes. Local residents gathered for Ascension Day prayers in Wiler, expressing both grief and solidarity. 'They've lost everything,' one woman said. 'It's terrible. There's nothing we can do.' An elderly man added, 'We can cry, but we cannot cry forever. We must believe in God, that He will help us, so that life can go on.'
Matthias Huss believes the Blatten disaster could shape how Switzerland thinks about living in mountain areas. 'This event will be decisive for how we perceive the mountains,' he said. 'And I wouldn't exclude that other villages might be destroyed in future.'