 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Scary stuff.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Didn't they evacuate the same village in 2023, and 2024? For a similar risk.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| BergenBergen wrote: |
https://www.lenouvelliste.ch/valais/haut-valais/gigantesque-eboulement-a-blatten-une-partie-du-village-sous-les-decombres-notre-suivi-en-direct-1454317
Gravity has prevailed. Scary |
Jesus wept - poor villagers, how awful. There'd be families that have lived and worked the land there for centuries.
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OMG, that is horrific. Thank goodness all had been safely evacuated.
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The speed that came down was tremendous, doesn't look to have done to much damage to the village thankfully
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@robs1, thats the first video- watch the more recent one from 3:30 today.
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@Nadenoodlee, OMG...the village is gone, all of it, totally gone.
Those poor people, they've lost everything,
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Nadenoodlee wrote: |
| @robs1, thats the first video- watch the more recent one from 3:30 today. |
Yes you're right awful, power of nature is frightening
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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@rungsp, I watched the first one and thought ‘oh thank god it swerved them’ then saw a photo and saw the update - absolutely awful. Thank god they evacuated but a small comfort to those who have lost everything.
Very poignant quote from the president of the gemeinde (town hall) ‘ Wir haben das Dorf heute verloren, aber nicht das Herz.’
We lost the village today but not the heart
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You know it makes sense.
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@Nadenoodlee, poignant indeed. 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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| rungsp wrote: |
@Nadenoodlee, OMG...the village is gone, all of it, totally gone.
Those poor people, they've lost everything, |
Fortunately, they evacuated in advance, so hopefully they had time to take some personal belongings. Swiss building insurance should offer financial support, but the village and local local farms and businesses are probably gone for good, especially given what’s still above and yet to come down
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@BobinCH, I was thinking about that- I think they had a day to evacuate if I read it right. How much could I get out of my house in that time - not nearly enough. Financially I hope they are covered but you’ll never replace everything and god the effort of doing it! Awful.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Terrible.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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So traumatic to have your whole life just disappear - like the people in mid-Wales and the Chew Valley whose villages were drowned to create reservoirs.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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horrible and terrifying
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Would that be on a similar scale to the avalanche that created the lake at Alleghe?
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@brianatab, I don't know but I think the Alleghe avalanche of 1771 was a lot bigger. Also of course in 1771 the landslip material was left in place, whereas I expect the Swiss will use bulldozers to free up the course of the blocked river.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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If you see the view from the village on the other side (Weissenreid?) It's almost consumed by it as well. That village was miles above the valley floor looking at Google maps. Looking at the typographical maps it's nearly 300m higher than Blatten and it's partially covered.
There's no way you're over ruling nature at that, sadly.
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That's awful for the villagers.
@BobinCH, I assume that due to the location of the village that Swiss insurance would cover landslides/avalanches by default? Or at least houses in mountainous areas?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thanks goodness they got ahead of this
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| afterski wrote: |
That's awful for the villagers.
@BobinCH, I assume that due to the location of the village that Swiss insurance would cover landslides/avalanches by default? Or at least houses in mountainous areas? |
In Switzerland, damage to buildings and businesses caused by natural disasters like landslides is typically covered under standard building insurance policies. This coverage falls under “natural hazards” (Elementarschäden), which includes events such as floods, storms, avalanches, rockfalls, and landslides.
In most Swiss cantons, building insurance is mandatory and provided by cantonal insurance institutions. However, in the GUSTAVO cantons—Geneva, Uri, Schwyz, Ticino, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Valais, and Obwalden—building insurance is not mandatory, and property owners must obtain coverage through private insurers.
Specifically, in Valais, where Blatten is located, building insurance is not compulsory. Therefore, coverage depends on whether property owners had voluntarily secured private building insurance that includes natural hazard protection. If such insurance was in place, damages from natural disasters like landslides would generally be covered. However, without this insurance, property owners might not receive compensation for such damages.
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Concerns are being raised that avalanche debris may not strong enough to hold the increasing floodwaters and this will lead to a flood surge downstream should it collapse.
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You know it makes sense.
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A few more photos and a bit more info about the situation this morning in the local press in Tirol. Essentially, the debris is too unstable to support heavy machinery to cut a channel in the river blockage. They are hoping it will seep away naturally, but if it keeps raining heavily – the water has been rising at a rate of 3m/hour  – then it could either collapse or overflow and cause a storm surge below. They have emptied a reservoir further down the valley as a way to slow the flow, but are concerned there is more water than it can hold. Villages in the valley bottom below are being prepped for possible evacuation.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Scarlet wrote: |
| A few more photos and a bit more info about the situation this morning in the local press in Tirol. Essentially, the debris is too unstable to support heavy machinery to cut a channel in the river blockage. They are hoping it will seep away naturally, but if it keeps raining heavily – the water has been rising at a rate of 3m/hour – then it could either collapse or overflow and cause a storm surge below. They have emptied a reservoir further down the valley as a way to slow the flow, but are concerned there is more water than it can hold. Villages in the valley bottom below are being prepped for possible evacuation. |
There are plenty of large 360 diggers that can travel across bogs and swamps due to extra large tracks, they may be heavy but tread very lightly, if they really think it's that unstable they could airlift in some large pumps to keep the water lever at a safe level , it's not like it's the river Nile
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Poster: A snowHead
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I read somewhere that Swiss Army weren’t putting engineering teams in yet because the debris field remains threatened by unstable slopes above, so work on redirecting the river has to wait until it’s safer. Not good news for communities downstream but understandable
Some good articles (and links to scientists/ engineers on the ground) here:
https://eos.org/landslide-blog
https://www.antarcticglaciers.org/2025/05/birch-glacier-landslide/
That valley is exit route for classic Bernese Oberland ski tour (descent from Mittaghorn/ Hollandiahütte). Interesting to see how that is impacted next season. Which is tiny issue compared to entire communities losing their homes/ farms/ businesses etc
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Any possibility of scooping out a channel from a scoop operated below a heavy lift helicopter? I guess not because otherwise they'd be doing it.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Dave of the Marmottes, feels like the scale of that puts it in painting a house with a toothbrush territory.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@adithorp, wowsers
The exact opposite of the little dutch boy putting his finger in a dyke (don't google that, btw)
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| davidof wrote: |
@adithorp, wowsers
The exact opposite of the little dutch boy putting his finger in a dyke (don't google that, btw) |
In videos of it just overflowing without the cut channel it far less dramatic. Whether you can extrapolate from a beach sand dam, to unconsolidated landslide debris, I don't know? If you can, it might suggest letting nature take its path as the better choice.
I feel for all the residents but it must have been a double blow for those who thought their homes had survived, only to see them flooded.
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While it maybe unstable it isn't sand but it's better to let it do a similar thing slowly than it build and build then suddenly collapse,
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Don't forget that part of what has come into the valley is glacial ice. That will / is melt/ing. Until that has gone and whatever is above has been inspected/secured nothing will happen in the valley. They have already significantly lowered the level in a downstream resevoir with the hope it will act as a retention basin. I wish them good luck!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| Any possibility of scooping out a channel from a scoop operated below a heavy lift helicopter? I guess not because otherwise they'd be doing it. |
How 'bout having a Russian vessel "accidentally" scrape its anchor to create a channel? Just tell 'em there's a pipeline in there.
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