'I lost everything': Swiss residents in shock after glacier debris buries village
A helicopter flies over debris and dust from a crumbling glacier that partially collapsed and tumbled onto the village of Blatten, Switzerland is seen on May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
Mud and rocks slide down a mountain after a glacier partially collapsed covering most of the village of Blatten, Switzerland May 28, 2025, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. Pomona Media/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT
Debris and dust from a crumbling glacier that partially collapsed and tumbled onto the village of Blatten, Switzerland is seen on May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
A few remaining houses are seen after a massive rock and ice slide covered most of the village of Blatten, Switzerland May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
Debris and dust from a crumbling glacier that partially collapsed and tumbled onto the village of Blatten, Switzerland is seen on May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
Debris and dust from a crumbling glacier that partially collapsed and tumbled onto the village of Blatten, Switzerland, is seen on May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
A few remaining houses are seen after a massive rock and ice slide covered most of the village of Blatten, Switzerland May 29, 2025. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth
WILER, Switzerland - Swiss residents were struggling on Thursday to absorb the scale of devastation caused by a huge chunk of glacier that has buried most of their picturesque village, in what scientists suspect is a dramatic example of the impact of climate change on the Alps.
A deluge of ice, mud and rock crashed down the mountain on Wednesday, engulfing some 90% of the village of Blatten. Its 300 residents had already been evacuated earlier in May after part of the mountain behind the Birch Glacier began to crumble.
However, rescue teams with search dogs were still scouring the area on Thursday for a missing 64-year-old man after an initial scan with thermal drones found nothing.
As the Swiss army closely monitored the situation, some experts warned of the risks of flooding as vast mounds of debris almost two kilometers across are clogging the path of the River Lonza, causing a huge lake to swell amid the wreckage.
"I don't want to talk just now, I lost everything yesterday. I hope you understand," said one middle-aged woman from Blatten, declining to give her name as she sat alone disconsolately in front of a church in the neighbouring village of Wiler.
Nearby, the road ran along the valley before ending abruptly at the mass of mud and debris now blanketing her own village. Just a few roofs poked up through the sea of sludge.
A thin cloud of dust hung in the air over the Kleines Nesthorn Mountain where the rockslide occurred while a helicopter buzzed overhead.
Martin Henzen, another Blatten resident, said he was still trying to process what had occurred and did not want to speak for others in the village, saying only: "Most are calm, but they're obviously affected."
They had been making preparations for some kind of natural disaster but "not for this scenario," he added, referring to the scale of destruction.
'ENORMOUS PLUG'
But the immediate dangers might not be over.
"The water from the River Lonza cannot flow down the valley because there is an enormous plug," Raphael Mayoraz, a cantonal geologist, told Swiss national broadcaster SRF. "The worst case scenario is possible flooding."
Up to one million cubic meters of water are accumulating daily as a result of the debris damming up the river, said Christian Huggel, a professor of environment and climate at the University of Zurich.
Matthias Ebener, a spokesperson for local authorities, said some residents of neighbouring villages had been evacuated as a precaution.
The incident has revived concern about the impact of rising temperatures on Alpine permafrost which has long frozen gravel and boulders in place, creating new mountain hazards.
For years, the Birch Glacier has been creeping down the mountainside, pressured by shifting debris near the summit.
Matthias Huss, head of the Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS), pointed to the likely influence of climate change in loosening the rock mass in the permafrost zone, which triggered this week's collapse.
"Unexpected things happen at places that we have not seen for hundreds of years, most probably due to climate change," he told Reuters. REUTERS
Find out more about climate change and how it could affect you on the ST microsite here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Keys has no regrets after errors prove costly in French Open quarter-final
Jun 4, 2025; Paris, FR; Coco Gauff of the United States at the net with Madison Keys of the United States after their match on day 11 at Roland Garros Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images REUTERS Jun 4, 2025; Paris, FR; Madison Keys of the United States reacts to a point during her match against Coco Gauff of the United States on day 11 at Roland Garros Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images REUTERS Jun 4, 2025; Paris, FR; Madison Keys of the United States returns a shot during her match against Coco Gauff of the United States on day 11 at Roland Garros Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images REUTERS PARIS - A litany of errors ended the chances of Madison Keys in her French Open quarter-final with fellow American Coco Gauff on Wednesday but the Australian Open champion said she had no regrets for poor decisions that proved costly. Keys, the newest member of the Grand Slam winners' club following her Melbourne triumph in January, bowed out of Roland Garros after a 6-7(6) 6-4 6-1 loss with her 60th and final unforced error on match-point of a forgettable clash. The affable 30-year-old had arrived in Paris after a less than ideal run in tune-up tournaments on clay and was pleased at making the last eight after showcasing her free-swinging tennis in earlier rounds. "I don't really have regrets. I don't think I played quite the level that I wish that I could have, but I don't think that I regret not going for things or making poor decisions," Keys told reporters. "I just think that what I wanted to do and the level I produced just weren't on the same page today." Keys said playing under the roof of Court Philippe Chatrier on a cold and rainy day made a difference. "Definitely a different environment to play in. A lot more dead and slow with the roof closed," Keys added. "So just very different conditions. I'd much prefer it to be bouncy and hot, but it's just the reality of weather. Conditions like today unfortunately I think play a little bit more into Coco and make her even tougher to beat. "The court being a little bit slower coupled with the fact that she covers the court so well, it just put a little bit of pressure on me to go a little bit more for my shots and maybe press a little bit too much too soon." The big-hitting Keys will welcome the switch to the grass season ahead of Wimbledon, which begins on June 30, even if the turnaround is quick. "The tennis season doesn't really allow you to ease into anything, so I'm going to London tomorrow, and I imagine I'll be on grass on Friday. That's the reality of the sport," she said. "I've typically felt pretty comfortable on grass, so the first couple of days I imagine I'll be a little bit more sore just because the ball is so much lower, and it feels like you have to work a little bit harder just to move on the grass." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
a day ago
- Straits Times
Nearly 100 missing a week after floods tore through Nigerian town
Rubble from a collapsed house is seen in Anguwar Hausawa Gangari community, due to the flooding that killed 151 people and forced several thousand from their homes in Mokwa, Niger State Nigeria, May 31, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo FILE PHOTO: People are seen near their collapsed houses following a flooding that killed 151 people and forced several thousand from their homes in Mokwa, Niger State, Nigeria, May 31, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Rubble from collapsed houses is seen in Anguwar Hausawa Gangari community, due to the flooding that killed 151 people and forced several thousand from their homes in Mokwa, Niger State Nigeria, May 31, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - At least 98 people are still missing in addition to 160 confirmed dead a week after floods ripped through a town in central Nigeria, the national emergency agency said on Wednesday, as hopes of finding survivors fade. Heavy rainfall unleashed waters that destroyed homes and overwhelmed local drainage systems in Mokwa, about 270 km (168 miles) west of Abuja, in one of the deadliest floods to hit Africa's most populous country. Although search and rescue operations continue, damage to roads and bridges was hampering access, said the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), which has enlisted the help of Nigeria Red Cross, police and army. "Teams are working to locate missing persons. There is heightened risk of disease outbreaks due to overcrowding and contaminated water sources," NEMA said in a statement. Habiba Abdulahi, a 27-year-old resident, said four of her five children had been washed away by the floods, and that like other victims' relatives she was still hoping that the bodies would be found. "Just like that, my children were gone. Even now, we haven't found them, but we are still hoping to recover their bodies," she told Reuters by phone. The United Nations Children's Fund in Nigeria said it had deployed a team to provide essential healthcare services, including to pregnant women. Nigeria frequently experiences floods during the rainy season, which typically begins in April and ends in October. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
Canada, US warn of air quality hazards as Canadian fire smoke reaches Europe
Pedestrians walk along Lake Superior as a haze from Canadian wildfire smoke causes poor air quality in Duluth, Minnesota, on June 3. PHOTO: REUTERS Canada, US warn of air quality hazards as Canadian fire smoke reaches Europe OTTAWA - Canada's wildfires, which have already forced evacuations of more than 26,000 people, continued their stubborn spread on June 3, with heavy smoke choking millions of Canadians and Americans and reaching as far away as Europe. Alerts were issued for parts of Canada and the neighbouring United States warning of hazardous air quality. A water tanker air base was consumed by flames in Saskatchewan province, oil production has been disrupted in Alberta, and officials warned of worse to come with more communities threatened each day. 'We have some challenging days ahead of us,' Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe told a news conference, adding that the number of evacuees could rise quickly. Every summer, Canada grapples with forest fires, but an early start to the wildfire season in 2025 and the scale of the blazes – over two million hectares burned – is worrying. The provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba have been the hardest hit. Both declared wildfire emergencies in recent days. 'This has been a very difficult time for many Canadians,' federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski told reporters in Ottawa. 'This wildfire season has started off more quickly, and it's stronger, more intense,' she said, adding that the Canadian military has deployed aircraft to evacuate remote towns in Manitoba and was ready to also assist Saskatchewan and Alberta with firefighting. Climate change has increased the impact of extreme weather events in Canada, which is still recovering from the apocalyptic summer of 2023 when 15 million hectares of forests were scorched. As of June 3, there were 208 active fires across Canada. Half of them were listed as out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Many of the affected populations are Indigenous, and some small communities have burned to the ground. 'Very intense few weeks' Heavy smoke from the fires, meanwhile, has engulfed part of the continent, forcing residents of four Canadian provinces and the US states of Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin to limit outdoor activities. 'Smoke is causing very poor air quality and reduced visibility,' Environment Canada said in a statement. Wildfire smoke is comprised of gaseous pollutants such as carbon monoxide, along with water vapor and particle pollution, which can be particularly hazardous to health. Some of the worst smoke was in Alberta where three major oil sands producers – Canadian Natural Resources, MEG Energy Corp, and Cenovus Energy – this week evacuated workers and temporarily shut down hundreds of thousands of barrels of production per day. Huge plumes of smoke even reached Europe, the European Union's climate monitoring service said on June 3. Due to their very high altitude, they do not pose an immediate health risk, according to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), but are likely to result in hazy skies and reddish-orange sunsets. Additional plumes are expected to shade both continents in the coming days. 'Central regions of Canada have experienced a very intense few weeks in terms of wildfire emissions,' noted Dr Mark Parrington, scientific director at CAMS. Canadian authorities have forecast a more intense fire season than usual in central and western Canada, due in particular to severe or extreme drought. 'The significant reduction in snowpack in the spring led to early exposure of soil and vegetation, accelerating surface drying,' explained University of Ottawa professor Hossein Bonakdari. 'This early exposure acted as a silent amplifier, subtly setting the stage for extreme fires long before the first flame ignited,' he said. Elsewhere, extensive forest fires have been raging in Russia's Far Eastern Federal District since early April, particularly east of Lake Baikal, generating carbon emissions of around 35 million tons, Copernicus reported. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
