Swiss village left almost completely in ruins after glacier collapse
One person missing and 90% of Swiss village Blatten destroyed after glacier collapsed down into the valley.
The Swiss village of Blatten, which sits in a valley below the Bietschhorn mountain in the Lötschental region of the Swiss Alps, was almost entirely destroyed on Wednesday when huge part of the Birch Glacier broke off and engulfed the village in a landslide of ice, mud and debris.
The village's 300 inhabitants were evacuated on May 19 after local geologists became concerned about the glacier's stability following a series of increasingly frequent rockfalls from Bietschhorn mountain onto the glacier. Local authorities have stated that livestock were also evacuated - both cows and sheep have been witnessed being airlifted by helicopter out of the valley. Despite these preliminary safety efforts, one person has been reported missing and Blatten's 300 inhabitants are now without homes. The Public Prosecutor's Office of the Canton of Valais has launched an investigation into the whereabouts of the missing person - a 64-year-old man who was thought to have been in the area at the time of the landslide.
However, the search for the individual has been temporarily suspended by the police due to dangerous conditions in the valley, and remains missing. Ried, a hamlet next to Blatten, was also wiped out by the deluge.
Drone footage posted on social media and broadcast on the showed a large part of the glacier breaking off at about 15:30 (14:30 BST) on Wednesday afternoon. Since then photos have revealed aftermath of the disaster - showing 90 % of the village and wooded sides of the surrounding valley completely submerged in soil and mud. The houses that remain are now flooded with water from the river that ran through Blatten.
In an emotional interview for the press, Blatten's mayor, Matthias Bellwald, said "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."
However, Stéphane Ganzer, head of security for the southern Valais region, described the incident to local broadcaster Canal9 as a “major catastrophe,” warning that “the situation could get worse” due to the risk of blocked water flow caused by the destruction of the Lonza riverbed. Raphaël Mayoraz, head of the regional office for Natural Hazards, has stated that further evacuations of nearby areas to Blatten may be necessary.
Increasinging global temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions and climate change have caused both glaciers and permafrost - which plays a pivotal part in stabilising mountain ranges - to melt at alarming speeds.
An increasing number of alpine villages are starting to become at risk from thawing glaciers, and Blatten is not the first to be evacuated. Brienz, a village in east Switzerland, was evacuated two years ago due to rock avalanches. It's residents have only been able to return for short periods of time ever since.
The public have been urged to stay away from the affected area and follow the authorities' instructions. The access road from Goppenstein to Blatten will remain closed to all traffic until further notice, with the exception of residents and emergency services.
