Alarm in the Lötschental: Glacier abort threatens municipalities - evacuations planned!

Alarm in the Lötschental: Glacier abort threatens municipalities - evacuations planned!

In the Swiss Lötschental, a dramatic situation developed when the Birch glacier slipped on Wednesday and caused a massive degree of muddling made of ice, mud and rubble. This caused the village to be buried and the authorities strive to minimize the risk of residents. More than 2,000 people are affected in the region, especially in the municipalities of Steg-Hohtenn and Gampel-Bratsch, where the residents were asked to prepare for a possible evacuation. The municipality is about 20 kilometers below the danger point, and the water behind a rubble cone rises while the Lonza river threatens to make its way into the valley. The residents must now pay attention to the bare essentials and adjust to a possible evacuation because the situation remains tense.

The geologists and authorities are careful that the disaster scenario could possibly lose weight over time. However, cantonal geologist Raphaël Mayoraz emphasized the uncertainties that exist because it is unclear whether the collecting basin in Ferden can fully absorb the amount of water. Above the affected communities there are dams where water had to be drained. The Swiss army is ready to start evacuation work as soon as this is possible.

climate change and its consequences

The cause of the landslide is closely linked to climate change. The permafrost in the Alps thaws due to the rising temperatures and thereby destabilizes the rock walls that carry the pirch glacier. Christophe Lambiel, a permafrost expert from the University of Lausanne, describes the situation as unique and indicates that no comparable events such as the mountain range of Blatten are known in the Alps. He explains that the movement of the glacier has accelerated due to the increasing temperatures and the load through rock masses.

A total of about three million cubic meters of rock fell onto the glacier and the village. An acceleration in the movement of the mountain has been observed, which has increased in the past few days. Data show that rock falls in the region increase. Michael Krautblatter, professor of slope movements, confirms that there is an "absolute accumulation" of rock falls in the Alps, which is due to the strong warming and the associated loss of the permafrost.

The dangers in the alpine room

mountain storts of this dimension are to be regarded as millennium events in the Lötschental. Flavio Anselmetti, an expert in this area, explains that a landlord comprises a volume of at least one million cubic meters. This corresponds to the volume of 1,000 to 2,000 single -family houses. The current developments show that the dangers of climate change in the Alps can increase and achieve threatening dimensions.