A huge glacier breakoff in Switzerland destroyed the Alpine village of Blatten, leaving nearly all of it under rubble and one person missing. The vast Birch Glacier ruptured at about 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, sending a combination of ice, stone, and mud into the Lötschental Valley just days after authorities had issued a warning of possible instability.
Authorities had ordered the Blatten residents of 300 people out nine days ago, but a 64-year-old man, not evacuated, is still missing. “In spite of great efforts, the man is yet to be found,” Valais police said.
The accident destroyed or buried almost 90% of Blatten. Village mayor Matthias Bellwald gave an emotional speech: “The unimaginable has happened. We have lost our village, but not our hearts. Even though the village is under a massive mountain of rubble, we know where our homes and our church need to be rebuilt.”
Stéphane Ganzer, who is in charge of security for the Valais area, said it was a “major catastrophe,” while Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter expressed her sympathies, saying, “It’s horrible to lose your house. At these difficult moments, my thoughts are with the inhabitants of Blatten.”
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Cause of the Landslide
Geologists had kept a close eye on the Birch Glacier, which had been exhibiting disturbing motion — moving as much as 11 feet per day — under almost 9 million tonnes of rubbish. Government officials in the region had even airlifted 52 animals, including cows, sheep, and house rabbits, out.
On Wednesday, the glacier collapsed, dumping an avalanche of rubbish into the valley with a deafening crash. “Three million cubic meters of material had been deposited on the glacier, and then slid down into the valley,” noted Raphaël Mayoraz, who leads the canton’s Natural Hazards Service. “It is a very rare occurrence.”
Drone images showed a massive cloud of dust and rubble engulfing the valley, burying the Lonza riverbed and leaving a two-kilometre blockage that created a small lake. The impact of the collapse was felt as a 3.1-magnitude quake.
Mayoraz warned a second debris flow was still a risk: “A debris flow cannot be entirely excluded. That’s a hazard we need to keep an eye on.”
Relief Operations and Government Response
The emergency services were quick to respond. Three rescue experts were flown in, and drones with thermal cameras searched for the missing man. The Swiss army meanwhile mobilized pumps and heavy equipment to deflect flooding from the blocked watercourse.
Defence and Civil Protection Minister Martin Pfister labelled the glacier collapse a “striking proportions” disaster and promised, “We assure you of our support, today and in the weeks and probably years to come.”
Environment Minister Albert Rösti referred to the occurrence as “extraordinary” and underlined the government’s determination to reconstruct: “The government will do everything possible to give Blatten a future, although it will take a lot of effort and time.”
Climate Change’s Role in Alpine Disasters
Experts have sounded the warning repeatedly that global warming is destabilizing glaciers throughout the Alps. Switzerland lost 6% of its glacier volume in 2022 and another 4% in 2023 — the rate of loss fastest ever recorded.
Rösti observed, “Nature is stronger than humankind, as mountain dwellers know.” The permafrost that serves as a natural cement for mountain rock is also thawing, rendering the landscape more susceptible to such failures.
Similar incidents have occurred in recent years. The village of Brienz faced evacuations in 2023 and again last year due to rockslide threats. In 2017, eight hikers lost their lives when the Bondo region experienced the country’s worst landslide in over a century.
The Blatten-Goppenstein road has been closed to residents as recovery and risk evaluations remain ongoing. Authorities say recovery might take years and are not eliminating additional evacuations.
In spite of the destruction, Mayor Bellwald vowed resilience: “We will help one another and comfort one another. After a long night, it will be morning again.”
