5 THEODORA PETER The Valais village of Blatten was wiped out on 26 May 2025, when some ten million cubic metres of rock and ice plummeted into the Lötschental valley. Blatten’s residents, who had been evacuated to neighbouring villages two weeks before, watched in horror as the Birch Glacier came thundering down the side of the mountain at 3.30 p.m., burying their village. A fatal chain reaction triggered the disaster. In the preceding days and months, parts of the Kleines Nesthorn mountain had begun to break off, piling up on the glacier below. The ice groaned under the enormous strain – before finally giving way. According to the scientists at ETH Zurich, who have been monitoring the glacier and the Kleines Nesthorn since the 1990s, climate change is likely to have contributed to permafrost thaw and increased rockfall. They see parallels between Blatten and the landslide that ripped through the Grisons village of Bondo in August 2017. Back then, an approximately three-million-cubic-metre rockslide on the Piz Cengalo mountain landed on a small glacier, causing some of the glacier to be swept away. This sent a river of mud, rocks and dirt flooding into Bondo. Eight hikers were killed. The inhabitants of Bondo got the shock of their lives, with the debris flow causing extensive damage to homes and roads. To protect the village from future threats, the authorities have invested over 50 million Swiss francs in protective infrastructure including a dam to prevent flooding. Plans for a rapid rebuild Blatten’s 300 residents have lost everything they own. The landslide claimed the life of a man who had been on the way to his sheep and was later found dead. Barely a day after the disaster, local mayor Matthias clear away the earth and rocks beneath which the centre of the village is currently buried. The aim is for Blatten’s first new house to be ready by 2029. Insurers are set to pay out around 300 million francs for new builds. The public sector will invest in roads, electricity and water supplies, with the federal government and the canton of Valais having promised financial assistance. Many Swiss municipalities and private individuals have also donated money in solidarity. But as the country rallies around Blatten, some wonder whether climate change is rendering certain parts of Switzerland uninhabitable. Giving up on Blatten would be unimaginable, says the mayor. “This is our home and Permafrost, the “glue” that holds mountains together, is thawing at an increasingly rapid pace. Higher temperatures mean more landslides and rockfalls, as meltwater penetrates the permafrost and accelerates erosion. Bellwald declared that Blatten would be rebuilt. “We have lost our village, but not our heart,” he said – a quote that was seen around the world. Only two weeks later, the Communal Council pledged to rebuild the village within the next five years. It was important to say that Blatten had a future and that it was possible to rebuild, said Bellwald in July when “Swiss Review” visited him in the neighbouring village of Wiler, from where the mayor is continuing his duties. Some 80 per cent of Blatten’s residents have remained in the Lötschental valley after finding other places to stay. Happily, there was no exodus. One reason for that is because children from Blatten have always gone to school in Wiler and Kippel. “Continuity is crucial for our schoolchildren,” says Bellwald. After the shock and trauma, adults in the village community must adjust to a new reality. “This isn’t necessarily easy,” says the mayor. Neighbouring communities welcoming them with open arms is one thing, but living in exile is another. Many villagers are simply desperate to return home. “We are fully committed to making this happen.” Firstly, the authorities will secure access to the hamlets higher up that were left unscathed. They will then our land.” The village belongs to the people who have lost it. “And we have the right to return.” Blatten is a “oncein-a-millennium event” that could happen anywhere. “We would have to relocate the entire country [to avoid every hazard].” Uncertain future for Brienz-Brinzaul The spectre of relocation hangs over another Swiss mountain village: Brienz-Brinzaul in Grisons, where unstable slopes were a longstanding issue that came to a head in 2023 (see “Swiss Review” 5/2023). The hamlet’s The view over the buried village of Blatten. The layer of ice and debris is two kilometres long and up to 100 metres deep. The avalanche of debris thundered into the valley from the left, reaching as far as the hamlet of Weissenried on the right-hand side. Photo: Keystone Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 Blatten’s mayor Matthias Bellwald does not want to give up on his village: “This is our home and our land.” Photo: Keystone
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