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yesterday

Swiss Alpine Glacier Collapse Buries Evacuated Village of Blatten

Accelerated glacier movement above Blatten culminated in the Birch Glacier collapse, prompting authorities to launch a national ground monitoring initiative.

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)
The village of Blatten on May 18, 2025, before it was buried by rock and mud.
Blatten, Switzerland, on May 28, 2025.
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Overview

  • On May 28 at around 3:30 pm, a large section of the Birch Glacier collapsed after rockfalls from the Klein Nesthorn destabilized its flank.
  • The surge of ice, mud and rock partially destroyed buildings and infrastructure in the Loetschental valley village of Blatten, which had been evacuated on May 19.
  • Local authorities report one resident remains missing as emergency crews secure the hazardous site and assess the full extent of the damage.
  • The Swiss government plans to use ESA’s Sentinel-1 satellite data in a new national ground monitoring system to anticipate future landslide and glacier movement threats.
  • Experts warn that Swiss glaciers lost about 10 percent of their volume in 2022–23 and ended winter 2025 with 13 percent below-average snow cover, underscoring growing climate-driven geological instability.