Brienz threatens rubble avalanche: residents in great danger!

Brienz threatens rubble avalanche: residents in great danger!

Blatten, Wallis, Schweiz - In Switzerland, a dramatic natural disaster is bought, which teaches the residents of Brienz and the neighboring blatings. On June 16, 2025, the mountain village of Blatten in the canton of Valais was almost completely buried by a catastrophic glacier abort and subsequent rubble wings. Like Vol.at reported, broke off a large part of the birch glacier around 3:30 p.m. This led to an avalanche of rubble and rubble, which rushed into the valley with a cloud of dust and buried leaves under meter -high mud masses.

Jonas Jeitziner, the deputy head of information at the regional leadership, confirmed the catastrophic situation. Videos on social media showed the extent of the destruction, while the emergency services are tirelessly trying to assess the situation. An earthquake of the strength of 3.1 on the Richter scale was a direct episode of the abortion, which made the situation in the disaster area all the more confusing. In order to be able to react quickly, the canton of Valais has proclaimed a "special location" and asked the army for support, which is now being examined.

the evacuation and the consequences

Two weeks ago, around 300 people had to be evacuated from blats because of the impending danger. The local authorities had taken measures early after 1.2 million cubic meters of rock material near Brienz had slipped two years ago. This time, however, the situation is far more dramatic. The police have cordoned off the entire area around BRIENTEN and BLATTEN to ensure the safety of the residents.

Currently around 80 residents of Brienz are entitled to return to their home daily to order their fields, but the region remains closed to access. The authorities primarily observe the dangers that could arise from possible further precipitation. In several places around Brienz, the surface is classified as unstable.

The challenge of cleaning up

The Schuttberg in Blatten is more than 100 meters high, extends over two kilometers and contains an estimated nine million cubic meters of material. A third of it is made of glacier ice. The approach to the cleanup is assessed as extremely dangerous because the rubble could collapse at any time. Geologists bale their powers to monitor the situation. In addition, the Lonza mountain flow now flows into a new gutter, which carries further risks.

The formation of a new reservoir, called "Blattensee", is particularly worrying, which is formed due to the pent -up water and is constantly larger. The situation is attentively monitored, since there is also the risk of flooding from the rubble. But not only the residents have to suffer from the measures: 190 sheep and 26 cows also had to be brought to safety in order to prevent livestock farming in danger.

The coming time will be a major challenge for the residents and emergency services, not only because of the clean -up work, but also due to the unpredictable forces of nature. The end of the glacier in Blatten is an urgent testimony to the dangers that Switzerland's mountainous terrain brings with it, and maybe a wake -up call for everyone who has to deal with the topics of climate and nature. Schweizerbauer.ch also published some videos that illustrate the frightening location.

The action remains exciting and we will keep an eye on the developments around Blatten and Brienz. We are not up to nature - but with a good hand you can still try to make the best out of the situation.