Latest news with #AntoineJacquod
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Climate
- Daily Mirror
Swiss glacier wipeout threatens two more villages as dam could burst
The shocking event in Valais on Wednesday, May 28, caused the village of Blatten to be subjected to an immense amount of debris consisting of various pieces of rock and ice. Looming floodwaters are threatening to strike two more Swiss villages in after a glacier collapse saw nearly an entire village become buried under snow. The shocking avalanche in Valais on Wednesday, May 28, saw the village of Blatten subjected to an immense amount of debris consisting of various pieces of rock and ice. It occurred after a chunk of the Birch Glacier in the south of Switzerland fell off, with broken pieces of the wedge tumbling down the mountain and leaving a huge dust cloud in the area around the village, with 90 per cent of the town now being buried in debris. The 300 people who live in Blatten were evacuated before the landslide, but authorities have since stated that one individual is still missing. Following the dramatic turn of events, the two villages of Kippel and Wiler have been ordered to evacuate by authorities as a safety precaution. This is due to the earlier landslide now blocking the river Lonza, creating a makeshift dam that could burst and devastate the two settlements while also sweeping the debris from yesterday's event into the area. Antoine Jacquod, a military security official, told the Keystone-ATS news agency: "'There is a serious risk of an ice jam that could flood the valley below." The army has since made a statement that equipment such as water pumps and diggers were being made available as needed. Christoph Hegg of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) told Blick:"The lake behind the debris is getting higher and higher. And the water masses are pressing on the dam. This increases the pressure." He added: "The worst case scenario is that the load on the dam becomes too great and the dam breaks. The water masses then rush into the valley and, depending on the strength of the material, are likely to sweep the debris with them." Local politician Christophe Darbellay told news outlet 20 Minuten that Blatten had "disappeared from the map", while locals told the outlet that a sewage treatment facility and power plant which had recently been built could be destroyed by the potential flood posed by the river Lonza. Blatten's president Matthias Bellwald said during a press conference yesterday that the "unimaginable" had happened. He said: "We have lost our village, but not our hearts. "Even though the village lies under a huge pile of rubble, we know where our homes and our church must be rebuilt." Climate change has been proposed as a likely reason for the devastating events seen in the region as a result of the Birch Glacier. Matthias Huss, head of the Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS), said that rocks in the permafrost zone of the mountain had possibly loosened and contributed to the collapse. He told Reuters:"Unexpected things happen at places that we have not seen for hundreds of years, most probably due to climate change."
Observer
3 days ago
- Climate
- Observer
Switzerland monitoring for flood risk after huge glacier collapse
GENEVA: Swiss authorities were on Thursday monitoring for possible flood risk in a southern valley, following a massive glacier collapse that created a huge pile of debris after destroying a small village. On Wednesday the Birch glacier in Switzerland's southern Wallis region collapsed, sending tons of rock, ice and scree hurtling down the mountain slope and into the valley below. The barrage largely destroyed the hamlet of Blatten, which had been home to 300 people and was evacuated last week due to the impending danger. One person, a man aged 64, believed in the affected zone at the time, remained reported missing. On Thursday authorities declared a local state of emergency as they monitor the situation after the huge pile of glacier debris, stretching some two kilometres (1.25 miles), blocked the river Lonza. "There is a serious risk of an ice jam that could flood the valley below," Antoine Jacquod, a military security official, told the Keystone-ATS news agency. "We're going to try to assess its dimensions today," added Jacquod. With the area too unstable to approach, authorities said an assessment would be made at 6:00 pm from the nearby village of Ferden. As a precaution, 16 people were evacuated late on Wednesday from two villages located downstream from the disaster area. "It's like a mountain, and of course, it creates a small lake that gets bigger and bigger," explained Raphael Mayoraz, the cantonal official in charge of natural hazard management, Wednesday evening. An artificial dam was preemptively emptied to receive the water pushed back by the wall of ice, earth and rubble. Were that water to overflow from the dam, authorities would need to consider evacuating the valley. The Valais cantonal government has meanwhile asked the army to provide clearing equipment and pumps to secure the riverbed. "The deposit ... is not very stable, and debris flow is possible within the deposit itself (which) makes any intervention in the disaster area impossible for the time being," cantonal authorities stated, adding there was a risk on both sides of the valley. YouTube footage of the collapse showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside, into the valley, and partially up the mountain slope on the other side. The force was such that Swiss monitoring stations registered the phenomenon as a seismic event. According to Mayoraz, "three million cubic metres of rock fell suddenly onto the glacier, carrying it with them" down into the valley. Warming temperatures have both shrunk the Alps' glaciers and have made them more unstable. — AFP
Mint
3 days ago
- Climate
- Mint
'I lost everything': Swiss glacier collapse leaves residents in shock, destroys 90% of Alpine village — key points
A huge mass of rock and ice from a glacier crashed down a Swiss mountainside on Wednesday, destroying almost 90 per cent of an Alpine village, reported AFP. On Thursday, following the massive glacier collapse, Swiss authorities were monitoring the southern valley for possible flood risk. According to the report, the Birch glacier in Switzerland's southern Wallis region collapsed, sending tons of rock, ice, and scree hurtling down the mountain slope and the valley below. State Councillor Stéphane Ganzer told Radio Télévision Suisse that 90 per cent of the village was destroyed. "I don't want to talk just now, I lost everything yesterday. I hope you understand," Reuters quoted a middle-aged woman from Blatten as saying as she sat alone disconsolately in front of a church in the neighbouring village of Wiler. The hamlet of Blatten, home to 300 people, was destroyed in the glacier crash. The report added that it was evacuated last week due to the impending danger. Citing the condition, authorities declared a local state of emergency after monitoring the situation. Huge glacier debris stretched some two kilometres and blocked the River Lonza. "There is a serious risk of an ice jam that could flood the valley below," Antoine Jacquod, a military security official, told the Keystone-ATS news agency, as AFP quoted. "We're going to try to assess its dimensions today," added Jacquod. On Wednesday evening, the authorities evacuated 16 people from two villages located downstream from the disaster area. The Swiss Army is closely monitoring the situation, but experts warned of the risks of flooding as vast mounds of debris are clogging the path of the River Lonza. In another update, the road that ran along the valley is covered with a mass of mud and debris. Only a few roofs poked up through the sea of sludge. Also, a thin cloud of dust hung in the air over Kleines Nesthorn Mountain, where the rockslide occurred. AFP quoted Christian Huggel, a professor of environment and climate at the University of Zurich, as saying that up to one million cubic metres of water are accumulating daily as a result of the debris damming up the river Lonzo. The Valais cantonal government has meanwhile asked the army to provide clearing equipment and pumps to secure the riverbed. However, authorities would need to make more arrangements if they consider evacuating the valley, as the water may overflow from the dam. Though an artificial dam was preemptively emptied to receive the water pushed back by the wall of ice, earth, and rubble, experts say it may not hold the danger for long. "The deposit ... is not very stable, and debris flow is possible within the deposit itself (which) makes any intervention in the disaster area impossible for the time being," cantonal authorities stated. A YouTube video showed the collapse of a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside, which Swiss monitoring stations registered as a seismic event. Said Raphael Mayoraz, a cantonal official in charge of natural hazard management, "Three million cubic metres of rock fell suddenly onto the glacier, carrying it with them down into the valley." "It's like a mountain, and of course, it creates a small lake that gets bigger and bigger," he added. A 64-year-old man remained missing on Thursday. The Cantonal Police of Valais said that a search and rescue operation was underway for the man. The police are also using a drone with a thermal camera. Head of the Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS), Matthias Huss, had pointed to the influence of climate change in loosening the rock mass in the permafrost zone. "Unexpected things happen at places that we have not seen for hundreds of years, most probably due to climate change," he told Reuters. In 2022 and 2023, the Swiss glaciers were severely impacted by climate change and melted, just like between 1960 and 1990, when they lost about 10 per cent of their volume.
CBS News
3 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Search suspended for missing man after partial glacier collapse causes landslide that buries 90% of Swiss village
Geneva — The search for a 64-year-old man was suspended Thursday due to unsafe conditions after a huge mass of rock and ice from a glacier crashed down a Swiss mountainside the day before. The landslide sent plumes of dust skyward and coated with mud nearly all of an Alpine village that authorities had evacuated earlier this month as a precaution. State Councilor Stéphane Ganzer told Radio Télévision Suisse that 90% of the village was destroyed. "An unbelievable amount of material thundered down into the valley," the Reuters news agency quotes Matthias Ebener, a spokesperson for local authorities as saying. Mud and rocks slide down a mountain after a glacier partially collapsed, covering most of the village of Blatten, Switzerland on May 28, 2025, in this screen grab taken from a handout video. Pomona Media / Handout via Reuters "We've lost our village," Blatten Mayor Matthias Bellwald told a press conference, according to Reuters. "The village is under rubble. We will rebuild." The Cantonal Police of Valais said that a search and rescue operation was temporarily suspended Thursday afternoon because of falling debris. The regional government said in a statement that a large chunk of the Birch Glacier above the village had broken off, causing the landslide, which also buried the nearby Lonza River bed, raising the possibility of dammed water flows. "There is a serious risk of an ice jam that could flood the valley below," Antoine Jacquod, a military security official, told the Keystone-ATS news agency. "We're going to try to assess its dimensions today." As a precaution, 16 people were evacuated late Wednesday from two villages located downstream from the disaster area. "It's like a mountain, and of course, it creates a small lake that gets bigger and bigger," explained Raphael Mayoraz, the cantonal official in charge of natural hazard management, Wednesday evening. Mud and rocks cover a village after a glacier collapse onto Blatten, Switzerland, on May 28, 2025, in this screen grab taken from a video. KEYSTONE-SDA via REUTERS Video on social media and Swiss television showed that the mudslide near Blatten, in the southern Lötschental valley, partially submerged homes and other buildings under a mass of brownish sludge. In recent days, authorities had ordered the evacuation of about 300 people, as well as all livestock, from the village amid fears that the 52 million-cubic foot glacier was at risk of collapse. The Valais cantonal government has meanwhile asked the army to provide clearing equipment and pumps to secure the riverbed. "The deposit ... is not very stable, and debris flow is possible within the deposit itself (which) makes any intervention in the disaster area impossible for the time being," cantonal authorities stated, adding there was risk on both sides of the valley. Swiss glaciologists have repeatedly expressed concerns about a thaw in recent years — attributed in large part to global warming — that has accelerated the retreat of glaciers in Switzerland. The landlocked Alpine country has the most glaciers of any country in Europe, and saw 4% of its total glacier volume disappear in 2023. That was the second-biggest decline in a single year after a 6% drop in 2022. The incident comes just days afte the bodies of five skiers were found on a glacier above the Swiss resort town of Zermatt. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Climate
- Time of India
Switzerland monitoring for flood risk after huge glacier collapse
Swiss authorities were on Thursday monitoring for possible flood risk in a southern valley, following a massive glacier collapse that created a huge pile of debris after destroying a small village. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now On Wednesday the Birch glacier in Switzerland's southern Wallis region collapsed, sending tons of rock, ice and scree hurtling down the mountain slope and into the valley below. The barrage largely destroyed the hamlet of Blatten, which had been home to 300 people and was evacuated last week due to the impending danger. One person, a man aged 64, believed in the affected zone at the time, remained reported missing. On Thursday authorities declared a local state of emergency as they monitor the situation after the huge pile of glacier debris, stretching some two kilometres (1.25 miles), blocked the river Lonza. "There is a serious risk of an ice jam that could flood the valley below," Antoine Jacquod, a military security official, told the Keystone-ATS news agency. "We're going to try to assess its dimensions today," added Jacquod. With the area too unstable to approach, authorities said an assessment would be made at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) from the nearby village of Ferden. As a precaution, 16 people were evacuated late Wednesday from two villages located downstream from the disaster area. Not very stable "It's like a mountain, and of course, it creates a small lake that gets bigger and bigger," explained Raphael Mayoraz, the cantonal official in charge of natural hazard management , Wednesday evening. An artificial dam was preemptively emptied to receive the water pushed back by the wall of ice, earth and rubble. Were that water to overflow from the dam, authorities would need to consider evacuating the valley. The Valais cantonal government has meanwhile asked the army to provide clearing equipment and pumps to secure the riverbed. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "The deposit ... is not very stable, and debris flow is possible within the deposit itself (which) makes any intervention in the disaster area impossible for the time being," cantonal authorities stated, adding there was risk on both sides of the valley. Seismic event YouTube footage of the collapse showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside, into the valley, and partially up the mountain slope on the other side. The force was such that Swiss monitoring stations registered the phenomenon as a seismic event. According to Mayoraz, "three million cubic metres of rock fell suddenly onto the glacier, carrying it with them" down into the valley. Warming temperatures have both shrunk the Alps' glaciers and have made them more unstable. Swiss glaciers, severely impacted by climate change, melted as much in 2022 and 2023 as between 1960 and 1990, losing in total about 10 percent of their volume. In late August 2017, approximately 3.1 million cubic meters of rock fell from Pizzo Cengalo, a mountain in the Alps in Graubuenden canton, near the Italian border, claiming the lives of eight hikers. Some 500,000 cubic metres of rock and mud flowed as far as the town of Bondo, causing significant material damage but no casualties.
