Swiss valley to prepare for evacuation after glacier collapse

Residents in several Swiss Alpine communities remain on high alert on Friday as a local river swelled dangerously behind a natural dam of rubble, rocks and ice following a glacier collapse earlier this week, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.

“We ask residents to make personal preparations so that they can leave their homes as quickly as possible,” the municipalities of Steg-Hohtenn and Gampel-Bratsch in the Lotschental valley said on their website late Thursday.

The affected areas are located about 20km downstream from the village of Blatten, which was buried by a glacier collapse on Wednesday.

Debris from the collapse has blocked the Lonza river at around 1,500m elevation, with water pooling behind the debris.

Authorities hope the water will gradually find a safe outlet, but warned it could spill over the debris cone, potentially triggering a flood wave or a mudslide if the debris is swept downstream.

Blatten’s 300 residents were told to evacuate at short notice last week. A 64-year-old man, who remained in the area despite the order, remains missing.

- Bernama

Size of a city - Canada's last fully intact Arctic ice shelf collapses

Satellite image shows Antarctic ice shelf crumbling faster than thought

Glaciers vanishing at record rate in Alps following heatwaves