Glacier root in Switzerland: Belarn Blatten under rubble!

Glacier root in Switzerland: Belarn Blatten under rubble!

Blatten, Schweiz - On May 28, 2025, a catastrophic glacier root in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. The evacuated mountain village of Blatten was almost completely buried under a mudslide. Almost 90 percent of the village are affected and many buildings are destroyed or buried under rubble. The immense pressure of about nine million tons of rubble material, which has been deposited on the birch glacier, led to the demolition of a large part of the glacier and to a devastating degree.

like dolomitenstadt.at reported, but the search for a missing 64-year-old locals began on the same day, but was unsuccessful until midnight. The evacuation of the approximately 300 Platten had already taken place in the previous week to protect them from the expected dangers. In the afternoon at 3:30 p.m. the glacier canceled, in which an estimated amount of three million cubic meters fell into the village.

causes and follow

The trigger of the glacier exit was a slow clipper on the small Nesthorn, an almost 3,800 meter high mountain above the Birch glacier. The geologists classified the end of the glacier and the subsequent degree of murder as historically "unprecedented". Due to the risk from possible further departures, the situation in the valley is still critical. The Lonza river is stowed over two kilometers, which could result in potential floods and additional evacuations.

The mayor Matthias Bellwald commented on the events and emphasized the will of the community to remedy and rebuild the damage. Initial assessments indicate that, apart from the missing locals, no people were harmed. The Federal President and Minister also take part in coping with the crisis in the disaster area and offer support, so tagesschau.de.

severe natural events in Switzerland

The current events tear a long history of serious stalls and glacier drops in Switzerland. Historically, there were numerous such disasters, such as the glacier abortion at Mattmark in 1965, in which 88 people died, or the clash at Flims, which took place about 10,000 years ago and is one of the largest acquaintances. These recent events are another chapter in the history of the natural disasters in the Alps, as explained in an overview of [watson.ch] (https://www.watson.ch/wissen/schweiz/9454921-bondo-matterhorn-und-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-co-.

It remains to be seen how the community concerned will deal with the devastating consequences of the glacier root and what measures are taken to minimize future risks while the search for the missing resident continues.