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16h ago

Birch Glacier Collapse Obliterates Alpine Village, Raises Flood Concerns

Blocked by debris, the Lonza River poses a growing flood threat to downstream communities.

The village of Blatten on May 18, 2025, before it was buried by rock and mud.
This photograph shows the small village of Blatten, in the Bietschhorn mountain of the Swiss Alps, destroyed by a landslide after part of the huge Birch Glacier collapsed and swallowed up by the river Lonza the day before, on May 29, 2025.
A large avalanche with a mixture of ice, rock, snow and water reach the valley floor is pictured in Wiler after the Birch glacier collapsing above Blatten, Switzerland, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)
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Overview

  • On May 28, a 1.5-million-cubic-metre segment of the Birch Glacier collapsed in the Lötschental valley, triggering a landslide that buried roughly 90% of Blatten after an evacuation earlier in May.
  • Search-and-rescue teams, supported by Swiss Army drones and helicopters, continue efforts to locate a missing 64-year-old resident.
  • Military units have deployed clearing equipment and pumps to relieve water pressure from the debris dam blocking the River Lonza, which poses a flood risk to downstream communities.
  • The Swiss federal and Valais cantonal governments have pledged financial assistance to help displaced villagers remain in the region.
  • Glaciologists and geologists attribute the collapse to accelerated glacier melt and permafrost thaw from rising temperatures, warning of escalated hazards in Alpine terrain.