Wind -up mountain glacier ruins Swiss Bergdorp: huge dust layer covers the area

The three hundred inhabitants of the Swiss mountain village of Blatten have been fearing for the continuation of their hometown for some time. Wednesday afternoon that fear changed into a bitter reality: a mix of ice, mud, dust and debris collapsed together as an avalanche into the Alpendorp. The collapsing glacier, presumably caused by rap melting snow peaks, has completely ruined the habitat in blats.

The inhabitants had already been evacuated. There is little chance that on return they will recognize something from their old place of residence: according to Swiss media most homes have collapsed. Eyewitnesses describe the village ravaged by natural disasters as an area overloaded with rubble, where even the church did not stand up. A river babbling through the mountain pass has also come to a halt due to the enormous amount of dust. The electricity has also failed.

As far as is known, no injuries have been made; However, one person is reported missing. The army is now on its way to the area. Although the collapsing glacier did not come as a surprise, residents respond disbelief. They fear that they have lost their possessions and not being able to return home for the time being.

Melting glaciers

Glaciers in the Swiss Alps have been melted rapidly in recent years as a result of climate change in recent years. Research from 2019 Be aware that in 2050 at least half of the Swiss glaciers would have disappeared if the melting process continued at the same pace.

Three years later, other researchers concluded that the ice peaks were even faster than previously accepted. In 2022 about three cubic meters of ice was lost In the country that has most glaciers in all of Europe. A combination of snow shortage and persistent heat form the catalyst for fast melting.

In Blatten, the large amount of dust clouds that recently descended around the village were one of the indicators for the collapse of the glacier. Experts feared a large landslide after the crumbling debris of a mountain above the village accumulated on the glacier. He could no longer carry the weight, after which the dust mountain threw down like an avalanche. The melting snow may also play a role higher in the mountain area.

After the evacuation last Monday, the residents were remotely informed of the developments in Blatten, for example that an injured cow was towed through a helicopter from the area. The fear was that other villages in the mountain area would also be struck by the avalanche, but as far as we know it seems to be better than expected.

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