Latest news with #Canal9
The Hindu
a day ago
- Climate
- The Hindu
Alpine village in Switzerland largely destroyed after a Swiss glacier collapses
A huge mass of rock and ice from a glacier thundered down a Swiss mountainside on Wednesday, sending plumes of dust skyward and coating with mud nearly all of an Alpine village that authorities had evacuated earlier this month as a precaution. Video on social media and Swiss TV showed the mudslide near Blatten, in the southern Lötschental valley, with homes and buildings partially submerged under a mass of brownish sludge. Regional police said a 64-year-old man was reported missing, and search and rescue operations involving a drone with thermal camera were under way. 'What I can tell you at the moment is that about 90% of the village is covered or destroyed, so it's a major catastrophe that has happened here in Blatten," Stephane Ganzer, the head of security in the southern Valais region, told local TV channel Canal9. 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's a risk that the situation could get worse,' Ganzer said, alluding to the blocked river. He said the army had been mobilized after earlier indications that the movement of the glacier was accelerating. At a news conference, Swiss Environment Minister Albert Rösti lamented 'an extraordinary event' and said the government would take steps to help villagers who lost their homes. In recent days the authorities had ordered the evacuation of about 300 people, as well as all livestock, from the village amid fears that the 1.5 million cubic meter (52 million cubic feet) glacier was at risk of collapse. Local authorities were deploying by helicopter and across the area to assess the damage, Jonas Jeitziner, a spokesman for the Lötschental crisis center, told The Associated Press by phone. Threat from global warming 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. In 2023, residents of the village of Brienz, in eastern Switzerland, were evacuated before a huge mass of rock slid down a mountainside, stopping just short of the community. Brienz was evacuated again last year because of the threat of a further rockslide.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Catastrophic Glacier Collapse Buries Iconic Alpine Village
A catastrophic glacier collapse tore through the Swiss Alpine village of Blatten on Wednesday, May 28, in a chilling reminder of the growing power of nature and the mounting costs of a warming planet. The massive landslide of ice, rock, and mud engulfed nearly the entire village, leaving one man missing and turning a once idyllic mountain retreat into a disaster zone. Blatten, home to around 300 people, sits deep in the Lötschental Valley in southern Switzerland. It had been evacuated last week after authorities warned of a possible collapse from the Birch Glacier looming above. On Wednesday, those warnings came to life in a violent cascade of debris that roared down the mountainside, burying roads, homes, and even parts of the Lonza River. Amid the devastation, regional police reported that a 64-year-old man remains missing. Search and rescue teams, aided by drones equipped with thermal cameras, are scouring the wreckage; but as time passes, hope is beginning to fade. Video captured from the valley shows towering plumes of dust as the earth gave way, followed by a wall of brown sludge that submerged the village. 'What I can tell you at the moment is that about 90 percent of the village is covered or destroyed,' said Stephane Ganzer, head of security for the Valais region, in an interview with local broadcaster Canal9. 'It's a major catastrophe that has happened here in Blatten.' Unfortunately, the tragedy in Blatten is not an isolated event, it's part of a broader trend that has Swiss scientists sounding the alarm. Glaciologists have long warned that rising global temperatures are accelerating the thaw of Alpine glaciers, destabilizing landscapes that have stood frozen for millennia. According to BBC, the Swiss government has already promised funding to make sure residents can stay, if not in the village itself, at least in the locality. However, Raphaël Mayoraz, head of the regional office for Natural Hazards, warned that further evacuations in the areas close to Blatten might be necessary. Switzerland, a landlocked nation with more glaciers than any other country in Europe, lost 4% of its total glacier volume in 2023 alone. That followed a staggering 6% drop in 2022, marking back-to-back years of record melt. The consequences have been dramatic and increasingly dangerous as reported by the BBC. Back in 2023, the eastern Swiss village of Brienz narrowly escaped a similar fate when residents were evacuated just before a massive rockfall tumbled down a nearby mountainside. The same village was evacuated again last year as cracks widened in the rock face above. With the Lonza River now partially buried by debris in Blatten, experts fear the situation could worsen if melting ice or rainwater becomes trapped and creates a natural dam. 'There's a risk that the situation could get worse,' Ganzer warned. But beyond the immediate danger, the collapse of Birch Glacier underscores an uncomfortable truth: the Alps are changing faster than many had feared. For remote villages perched in the shadow of glaciers, the future is looking increasingly unstable. Catastrophic Glacier Collapse Buries Iconic Alpine Village first appeared on Men's Journal on May 29, 2025
Vancouver Sun
2 days ago
- Climate
- Vancouver Sun
Swiss alpine village mostly destroyed in partial glacier collapse
A huge mass of rock and ice from a glacier thundered down a Swiss mountainside on Wednesday, sending plumes of dust skyward and coating with mud nearly all of an Alpine village that authorities had evacuated earlier this month as a precaution. Video on social media and Swiss TV showed the mudslide near Blatten, in the southern Lötschental valley, with homes and buildings partially submerged under a mass of brownish sludge. Regional police said a 64-year-old man was reported missing, and search and rescue operations involving a drone with a thermal camera were underway. BREAKING: Massive Glacier Collapse in Blatten, Valais (Switzerland) – May 28, 2025 Over 3.5 million m³ of ice, rock, and snow collapsed from the Birch Glacier, putting 9 million tons of pressure on the glacier. The entire village of Blatten (approx. 300 people) was evacuated in… 'What I can tell you at the moment is that about 90 per cent of the village is covered or destroyed, so it's a major catastrophe that has happened here in Blatten,' Stephane Ganzer, the head of security in the southern Valais region, told local TV channel Canal9. 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's a risk that the situation could get worse,' Ganzer said, alluding to the blocked river. Aerial footage of Blatten in Switzerland after glacier collapse. He said the army had been mobilized after earlier indications that the movement of the glacier was accelerating. At a news conference, Swiss Environment Minister Albert Rösti lamented 'an extraordinary event' and said the government would take steps to help villagers who lost their homes. In recent days the authorities had ordered the evacuation of about 300 people, as well as all livestock, from the village amid fears that the 1.5 million cubic meter (52 million cubic feet) glacier was at risk of collapse. Local authorities were deploying by helicopter and across the area to assess the damage, Jonas Jeitziner, a spokesman for the Lötschental crisis center, told The Associated Press by phone. 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 four per cent of its total glacier volume disappear in 2023. That was the second-biggest decline in a single year after a six per cent drop in 2022. In 2023, residents of the village of Brienz, in eastern Switzerland, were evacuated before a huge mass of rock slid down a mountainside, stopping just short of the community. Brienz was evacuated again last year because of the threat of a further rockslide. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
Swiss glacier collapses, destroys nearly all of Alpine village. Watch wild video
A huge mass of a Swiss glacier collapsed on Wednesday, leaving nearly all of an Alpine village destroyed. As rocks and chunks of ice crashed into the valley, plumes of dust went skyward. In a now-viral footage of the incident, the village of Blatten can be seen covered almost entirely in mud. Although residents had been evacuated days ago prior to the disaster, one person has been reported missing. Clips and photos of the Swiss glacier collapse that have been making rounds on the internet show the mudslide near Blatten in Lötschental, the largest valley on the northern side of the Rhône valley in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. According to the local police, a 64-year-old man was reported missing following the disaster, per Associated Press. The authorities began rescue operations involving a drone and thermal camera. Stephane Ganzer, the head of security in the southern Valais region, told local TV channel Canal9, 'About 90% of the village is covered or destroyed, so it's a major catastrophe that has happened here in Blatten,' adding, 'There's a risk that the situation could get worse.' In the wake of the incident, the regional government said that a large chunk of the Birch Glacier collapsed, causing the landslide in Blatten. A nearby Lonza River bed was also buried, which has raised the possibility of dammed water flows. Blatten's mayor, Matthias Bellwald, addressed the disaster, saying that 'the unimaginable has happened.' 'We have lost our village, but not our heart. We will support each other and console each other. After a long night, it will be morning again.' On May 19, 300 inhabitants of the now-destroyed village were forced to evacuate after the geologists monitoring the area issued a warning about an impending disaster, as the glacier had become unstable, per BBC.
NBC News
2 days ago
- Climate
- NBC News
Alpine village is largely destroyed when a Swiss glacier collapses
GENEVA — A huge mass of rock and ice from a glacier thundered down a Swiss mountainside on Wednesday, sending plumes of dust skyward and coating with mud nearly all of an Alpine village that authorities had evacuated earlier this month as a precaution. Video on social media and Swiss TV showed the mudslide near Blatten, in the southern Lötschental valley, with homes and buildings partially submerged under a mass of brownish sludge. Regional police said a 64-year-old man was reported missing, and search and rescue operations involving a drone with thermal camera were under way. "What I can tell you at the moment is that about 90% of the village is covered or destroyed, so it's a major catastrophe that has happened here in Blatten," Stephane Ganzer, the head of security in the southern Valais region, told local TV channel Canal9. 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's a risk that the situation could get worse," Ganzer said, alluding to the blocked river. He said the army had been mobilized after earlier indications that the movement of the glacier was accelerating. At a news conference, Swiss Environment Minister Albert Rösti lamented "an extraordinary event" and said the government would take steps to help villagers who lost their homes. In recent days the authorities had ordered the evacuation of about 300 people, as well as all livestock, from the village amid fears that the 1.5 million cubic meter (52 million cubic feet) glacier was at risk of collapse. Local authorities were deploying by helicopter and across the area to assess the damage, Jonas Jeitziner, a spokesman for the Lötschental crisis center, told The Associated Press by phone. 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. In 2023, residents of the village of Brienz, in eastern Switzerland, were evacuated before a huge mass of rock slid down a mountainside, stopping just short of the community. Brienz was evacuated again last year because of the threat of a further rockslide.
