Rest threat in Blatten: 300 inhabitants have to flee!

Rest threat in Blatten: 300 inhabitants have to flee!

In the municipality of Blatten in the Lötschental, Switzerland, there is an acute risk of a massive clash. As reported krone.at, geologists have found massive movements on the eastern flank of the small nest horn in the past few days, the summit of which protrudes above 3300 meters high. Due to this situation, around 300 inhabitants were asked to leave their houses on Monday morning, while around 100 buildings were cleared as a precaution

The experts estimate that up to five million cubic meters of rock could come loose, and 1.5 million cubic meters have already broken off. A first rock fall has already recorded parts of the birch glacier, which resulted in a mening, which came to a standstill 500 meters above the village. The cracks on the little Nesthorn also increase; In several places, the mountain is sunk by up to eight meters. Vertical movements of up to 17 meters were measured.

evacuations and support from the military

The municipality has immediately requested military support due to the threatening situation. The risk of a sudden, massive demolition remains high, and experts warn that the landlord could occur within hours, not in days. The first evacuations took place at the weekend, and the entire village is now affected. The evacuates are largely accommodated privately, while the municipality set up a central point of contact in the gymnasium of the neighboring village of Wiler, such as the Aargauer Zeitung reported.

In the night of Tuesday there were no major dropouts, but the wait for the main demolition remains tense. The cause of instability has so far been unclear, but could be caused by climate change, which thaws the permafrost area, as well as the beginning of the snow melt, which also brings water into the mountain and increases tensions in the rock.

scope of the threat

According to experts, the impending landslide could include up to three million cubic meters of rock, which corresponds to around 200,000 truck loads. The movement of the rock masses is continuously monitored; In the past few days there have been significant shifts of up to 30 meters a day towards Birch Glacier. A sudden demolition could lead to a devastating mening, which would destroy large parts of the village. Only the hamlets Eisten and Weizenried are considered safe because they are on the opposite slope.

A total of 283 inhabitants and around 20 holiday guests were evacuated. The mood in the emergency accommodation in Wiler is depressed, but the majority of the locals can be accommodated by relatives or friends. The duration of the evacuation is uncertain due to the unstable situation. The situation also raises major questions about the risks of natural hazards in Switzerland, where around 32,8 documented storm events with property damage were recorded annually, which is underlined by the need for an integral risk management, as on naturgehren.ch mentioned.