In the Swiss Alps (Photos+Video), a Village Is Obliterated (But the 9 Million-Ton Avalanche Is Only One Half of the Catastrophe)

Meanwhile, in the Swiss Alps… On May 28, the Alpine town of Blatten was razed from the map as it was buried under an avalanche. Some 90% of the Valais village disappeared, buried under 9 million tons of rock connected to a glacier on the neighboring mountain.

But as several authorities warned, that was not the end of it. Indeed, the remaining 10% of untouched houses were not out of danger, as the avalanche also blocked the Lötschental valley's Lonza river just like a dam would, causing a rise of 80 centimeters (31 inches) per hour, resulting in the formation of a lake, one that would soon submerge the remaining buildings, whose roofs alone, as of this writing, are visible.

Access to the touristic valley has been cut (except for emergency services) after what was effectively recorded as one of the strongest seismographic movements in Swiss history (corresponding to an earthquake of 3.1 magnitude) and which resulted in what can be almost be called the "perfect avalanche".

See before/after photos (with a slider) and a topographic map at this RTS article. Check this RTS piece for continuous updates; it is in French, but there are numerous photos (some with sliders) and videos to watch (in horror). Speaking about videos, a Radio Télévision Suisse news report below and at the link (until minute 12:12) shows the Birch glacier avalanche (with the images reminiscent of the explosion in Beirut's harbor a few years back) and the first images of the devastated village, before the formation of the lake.(As will surprise no one, climate change is starting to be blamed.)

The only good news is that none of the village's 300 souls was lost (so far, one missing person only) as the catastrophe was foreseen exactly two weeks earlier and all the inhabitants were evacuated nine days prior to the catastrophe, on May 19. (They were then testifying optimistically that they were looking forward to coming back to their homes. Alas, they are now orphans…)

But yet again, the danger is far from over. As Bluewin (which has a series of 8 photos) writes, what with the blockage of the river forming a lake,

The worst-case scenario would be a flood wave that overcomes the reservoir at Ferden and pours from the Lötschental towards the Valais valley floor, triggering debris flows. 

NB: While No Pasarán is out of order, I am blogging here, at NP's sister blog.