A river dammed by a huge Swiss landslide is flowing again. That's a relief to authorities
A huge mass of rock, ice and mud from the Birch glacier thundered into the Lötschental valley in southern Switzerland on Wednesday, destroying much of the village. Buildings that weren't buried were submerged in a lake created by the small Lonza River, whose course was dammed by the mass of material.
Authorities worried that water pooling above the mass of rock and ice could lead to risks of its own. Still, the regional government in Valais canton (state) said that the Lonza has been flowing through the full length of the debris since Friday.
Geologist and regional official Raphaël Mayoraz said Saturday that the level of the lake has since gone down about 1 meter (3.3 feet).
'The speed at which this lake is emptying comes from the river eroding the deposit,' he said at a news conference. 'This erosion is relatively slow, but that's a good thing. If it is too fast, then there is instability in this channel, and that could lead to small slides of debris.'
'The Lonza appears to have found its way, but it too early to be able to give an all-clear,' said Matthias Bellwald, Blatten's mayor.
The outlet of a dam downstream at Ferden, which is normally used to generate electricity, was opened partially on Friday evening to allow water to flow further down the valley and regulate the volume of water behind the dam. Authorities are still leaving open the possibility of evacuations further downstream if required, though the risk to other villages appears very low.
Days before most of the glacier collapsed, authorities had ordered the evacuation of about 300 people, as well as livestock, from Blatten. Switzerland's president said on Friday that the government was looking for ways to help the evacuees.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Swiss Army knife production may move to US amid Trump tariffs
America could wrest control of the manufacture of Swiss Army knives away from their Alpine homeland in a coup for President Trump's trade policy. Victorinox, which has made the knives in Ibach, Switzerland, since 1884, is considering moving part of its production to the US to soften the blow from import tariffs on its business. Carl Elsener, chief executive of Victorinox, told the German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche: 'We are looking into carrying out directly on site individual processing steps at the end of the value chain, such as the final cleaning and packaging of commercial knives.' 'That would reduce the value of the goods on which we have to pay customs duty by 10 per cent,' he added. Since 1884, Victorinox's founding family, the Elseners, have worked to keep manufacturing the Swiss Army knife in Switzerland. The country has been severely hit by Washington's trade policy under Trump, who earlier this month increased US tariffs on Swiss imports to 39 per cent. The US is a leading export market for Swiss brands including Swatch, Rolex and Patek Philippe watches as well as high-end cheeses and chocolates. Victorinox, which makes commercial knives as well as its well-known pocket knives, generates some 13 per cent of its revenue in the US. Elsener told WirtschaftsWoche that the customs duties were coming at an already difficult time. 'The strong Swiss franc has put our competitiveness and our margins under considerable pressure,' he said. Still, high inventories in the US meant the tariffs would not affect Victorinox until early next year, he added. For now, the firm would wait and see how things develop, he said. Industry associations and economists have said the tariffs will inflict major damage on the Swiss economy, put jobs at risk and curtail growth. They could also push the Swiss National Bank to cut interest rates next month. Economic uncertainty caused by Trump's trade policies has fuelled demand for the safe haven Swiss franc, boosting the currency and making Swiss-made goods more expensive abroad.
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Reuters
Switzerland considers joining UK's 'dirty money' task force
LONDON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Switzerland is considering joining a British-led international task force targeting kleptocrats and recovering stolen assets, it said on Tuesday, as it seeks to shake off its reputation as a haven for dirty money. British foreign minister David Lammy discussed the International Anti-Corruption Coordination with the Swiss government during a visit earlier this month, according to a UK government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Switzerland's foreign ministry said the country currently has observer status of the IACCC and had been invited by Britain to become a full member. "In this context, Switzerland is currently examining various options for its future cooperation with the IACCC. No decision has yet been made on this," it said in a statement. Joining the task force would allow Swiss authorities to share intelligence and work more closely with other countries on major investigations targeting dirty money. Lammy told Reuters earlier this week that Switzerland was "a key partner in the fight against illicit finance and corruption" and its participation in the IACCC would be "invaluable". Switzerland, the world's largest manager of offshore wealth, has tried to shed its image as a safe haven for illicit funds and has recently taken steps to improve transparency, including proposing stricter rules on beneficial ownership. The IACCC task force was launched in 2017 and is hosted by Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA). It brings together enforcement bodies from countries including the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to share intelligence and coordinate investigations. Since it was founded, it says it has identified 1.8 billion pounds in suspected stolen funds, and frozen 641 million pounds of assets. Britain has ramped up its efforts to tackle illicit finance since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It has positioned itself as a leader in the global fight against kleptocracy, but still faces its own challenges on that front. The NCA estimates that over 100 billion pounds ($135.32 billion) is laundered through or within the UK each year, often via British-registered corporate structures. ($1 = 0.7390 pounds)
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Reuters
Switzerland ready to host Putin for any Geneva peace talks, minister says
ZURICH, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Switzerland would be ready to host Russian President Vladimir Putin for any peace talks on Ukraine despite an existing arrest warrant for him from the International Criminal Court (ICC), Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on Tuesday. Neutral Switzerland is a signatory to the ICC but Cassis told Swiss national broadcaster SRF that provided Putin was coming for peace purposes, the country could receive him. "This has to do with our diplomatic role, with international Geneva as (the European) headquarters of the United Nations," Cassis told the broadcaster. French President Emmanuel Macron mooted Geneva as a potential location for Ukraine peace talks between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy after a meeting between U.S. President Trump, Zelenskiy and European leaders in Washington. The ICC issued its warrant in 2023, just over a year after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, accusing Putin of the war crime of deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.
