Swiss Glacier Collapse Is a Lesson on Climate Disaster Management
Swiss authorities evacuated the town of Blatten days before the Birch glacier collapsed, but the resources that allowed them to do that are not available to most countries.
Debris in the village of Blatten, submerged by the river Lonza, following the Birch glacier collapse in Switzerland, on May 31.
Photographer: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty ImagesA Swiss mountain slope bursting and unleashing a cascade of rocks and ice over an idyllic Alpine village last week was a chilling image, but also the symbol of a well-managed climate crisis.
The collapse of the Birch glacier in the Swiss Alps was an expected disaster. Authorities and scientists had been monitoring the area closely and when the first signs of instability started to appear, over a week before the event, they evacuated the town of Blatten, in the valley below the glacier. The landslide obliterated about 90% of the village and one person is missing, according to Swiss authorities.