Talic residents worry in Blatten after abortion

After a nerve -wracking night, all eyes are on the resulting reservoir behind the rubble cone in the disaster of the glacier abort in Switzerland. It is clear that the water masses have to make a way into the valley – but it is uncertain whether this is organized or chaotic.

Gigantic rock, ice and scree quantities have blocked the bed of the Lonza river since the century event on Wednesday. The water has stowed into a lake. The water level at times rose by three meters every hour. However, valley residents, disaster assistants and the called up army members had to watch how the situation was worried. With heavy device to mill furrows for an orderly expiry of the water in the rubble level, is not an option.

No intervention possible

« Unfortunately, we cannot do much because the security situation on site does not allow that we can intervene with heavy machines, » said Christian Studer from the Canton of Valais on Swiss television. There are several sources of danger: the Schuttberg is unstable because it consists of boulders, loose rubble and glacier ice, which should have already melted. Neither humans nor machines would be sure.

At the same time, there are further slips from both sides of the valley: at the original demolition point on the small Nesthorn, several hundred thousand cubic meters of rock can still crash. In addition, rubble and rubble masses over the valley floor and on the opposite slope were pushed up during the abortion. They too could slip again as a rubble avalanche.

As a precaution, residents emptied

The authorities can currently only deal with the danger assessment and organizational measures, said Studer. « We can make sure that no people are in an endangered area. » As a precaution, a reservoir at Ferden on the Lonza was emptied at the Lonza in order to serve as a collecting pool.

Studer also appeals to the horror scenario, which is unlikely but possible: « The » Worst Case « scenario is that, contrary to the scenarios that is currently rather realistically assessed, there is a lot more water and bedding that the reservoir is no longer able to swallow, » he said. Individual houses along the river bed were cleared.