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Time of India
2 days ago
- Climate
- Time of India
Switzerland: Flood risk after landslide engulfs village
Representative Image A man remained missing on Thursday following a massive landslide that engulfed a village in southern Switzerland. The Birch glacier in Switzerland's southern Wallis region crumpled on Wednesday, with the resulting landslide of rock and ice sending plumes of dust skyward. The landslide coated nearly the entirety of an Alpine village with mud. Last week, authorities evacuated the village as a precaution. The barrage largely destroyed the hamlet of Blatten, which had been home to 300 people. State Councilor Stephane Ganzer told Radio Television Suisse that 90% of the village was destroyed. The Cantonal Police of Valais said a search and rescue operation was underway for the missing 64-year-old man, involving a drone with a thermal camera. Glaciers vulnerable to climate change Switzerland's glaciers have been severely affected by climate change. In the years 2022 and 2023, they melted just as much as they had in the decades from 1960 through 1990. Matthias Huss, head of the Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland, pointed to the likely influence of climate change in loosening the rock mass in the permafrost zone, which triggered the glacier collapse and the subsequent landslide. "Unexpected things happen at places that we have not seen for hundreds of years, most probably due to climate change," he told Reuters. Concerns rising over blocked river Authorities have declared a state of emergency as they monitor the situation of the huge pile of glacier debris, stretching 2 kilometers (1.25 miles), blocking the Lonza River. "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." With the area too unstable to be approached, authorities indicated that an assessment would be made during the late afternoon from the nearby village of Ferden. As a precaution, 16 people were evacuated late Wednesday from two villages downstream from the disaster area. An artificial dam has been 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 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 said. They added that there is risk on both sides of the valley. Residents shocked by scale of destruction Martin Henzen, a Blatten resident, told Reuters that he was still trying to process what had occurred and did not want to speak for others in the village. "Most are calm," Henzen said, "but they're obviously affected." Henzen said residents had been making preparations for some kind of natural disaster but "not for this scenario," referring to the scale of destruction. Up to 1 million cubic meters (35 million cubic feet) of water could accumulate daily as a result of the debris damming up the river, and the buildings that emerged intact from the landslide are now flooding. Authorities have been airlifting livestock out of the area. "Right now," said Jonas Jeitziner, an official in neighboring Wiler, "the shock is so profound that one can't think about it yet."
Leader Live
3 days ago
- Climate
- Leader Live
Man missing after glacier in Switzerland collapses and destroys village
The landslide sent plumes of dust into the sky and coated with mud nearly all of an Alpine village that authorities had evacuated earlier this month as a precaution. State councilor Stephane Ganzer told Radio Television Suisse that 90% of the village was destroyed. The Cantonal Police of Valais said that a search and rescue operation was under way for the man, whose name has not been made public, and it involved a drone with a thermal camera. 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. Video on social media and Swiss television showed that the mudslide near Blatten, in the southern Lotschental valley, partially submerged homes and other buildings under a mass of 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. Swiss glaciologists have repeatedly expressed concerns about a thaw in recent years – attributed in large part to climate change – 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.
North Wales Chronicle
3 days ago
- Climate
- North Wales Chronicle
Man missing after glacier in Switzerland collapses and destroys village
The landslide sent plumes of dust into the sky and coated with mud nearly all of an Alpine village that authorities had evacuated earlier this month as a precaution. State councilor Stephane Ganzer told Radio Television Suisse that 90% of the village was destroyed. The Cantonal Police of Valais said that a search and rescue operation was under way for the man, whose name has not been made public, and it involved a drone with a thermal camera. 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. Video on social media and Swiss television showed that the mudslide near Blatten, in the southern Lotschental valley, partially submerged homes and other buildings under a mass of 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. Swiss glaciologists have repeatedly expressed concerns about a thaw in recent years – attributed in large part to climate change – 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.
Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Climate
- Vancouver Sun
Man missing after glacier collapse buries Swiss Alpine village
GENEVA — A 64-year-old man remained missing Thursday 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 Stephane Ganzer told Radio Television Suisse that 90% of the village was destroyed. The Cantonal Police of Valais said that a search and rescue operation was underway for the man, whose name wasn't made public, and it involved a drone with a thermal camera. 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. 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. 🔴 Toujours à #Blatten [CH] en #Suisse , de très grandes quantités d'eau s'accumulent derrière les millions de mètres cubes de "roche" ⚠️ Les villages en contrebas craignent un raz-de-marée imminent… (via ©Pomona) In recent days, 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 metre (52 million-cubic foot) glacier was at risk of collapse. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 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 Journal
3 days ago
- Climate
- The Journal
Man missing after glacier in Switzerland collapses and destroys village
A 64-YEAR-OLD MAN IS missing after a huge mass of rock and ice from a glacier crashed down a Swiss mountainside. The landslide sent plumes of dust into the sky and coated with mud nearly all of an Alpine village that authorities had evacuated earlier this month as a precaution. State councilor Stephane Ganzer told Radio Television Suisse that 90% of the village was destroyed. The Cantonal Police of Valais said that a search and rescue operation was under way for the man, whose name has not been made public, and it involved a drone with a thermal camera. Advertisement The avalanche one day after the collapse of the Birch Glacier. PA PA 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. Video on social media and Swiss television showed that the mudslide near Blatten, in the southern Lotschental valley, partially submerged homes and other buildings under a mass of 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. Swiss glaciologists have repeatedly expressed concerns about a thaw in recent years – attributed in large part to climate change – 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, the second-biggest decline in a single year after a 6% drop in 2022.
