Swiss village destroyed after breathtaking glacier collapse

On Wednesday 28 May, the Swiss village of Blatten has almost completely vanished due to an impressive glacier collapse. A combination of ice, mud, and rock covered approximately 90% of the town under a thick blanket of rubble, leaving many without a home and at least one person missing.

On 19 May, the 300 inhabitants of Blatten – located in the Lötschental valley in southern Switzerland – were evacuated from their homes. Geologists studying the Birch Glacier situated above the village had identified the risk of an imminent avalanche and that dramatic event happened a mere 9 days later. Live footage of the disaster has been shared online since.

Even though the glacier did not collapse entirely, the part that broke off was sufficiently big to cause a landslide which covered the village in a matter of seconds. According to Raphaël Mayoraz, head of the Wallis canton’s Natural Hazards Service, three million cubic metres of material had accumulated on the glacier before tumbling down into the valley.

“We have lost our village, but not our heart. We will support each other and console each other. After a long night, it will be morning again,” said Blatten’s mayor, Matthias Bellwald, in a statement.

The nearby Lonza riverbed was also obstructed by the landslide, leaving the water with no place to go, causing experts to fear for dammed water flows over the coming days. 16 people were already evacuated from villages nearby on Wednesday as a precaution. However, it became clear on Thursday evening according to Stéphane Ganzer, chief of the Wallis canton’s security department, that geologists consider the risk to be very small, as the Ferden Dam closely was preemptively emptied and should thus be able to absorb the water before it can cause damage to the villages.

Since the event, the Swiss army’s disaster relief unit has also arrived on-site. They are looking for a 64-year-old man in particular who went missing following the collapse, as a first thermal drone scan was unsuccessful. The Swiss government has already promised funding for the local residents, allowing them to stay in the village or at least closeby. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter showed her support to those affected on X.

Glaciers are increasingly impacted by climate change. According to official numbers, Swiss glaciers in particular lost 10% of their volume between 2022 and 2023, the same amount as between 1960 and 1990.