An entire town in the Swiss mountains has been told to evacuate, due to the imminent threat of landslides. Locals in the town of Blatten, Canton Valais, were given only a few hours to pack their essentials and leave.
On the morning of May 19, the local council in the town of Blatten sent out an evacuation notice to all residents in the town, extending a more limited order given on May 17. "Grab the bare essentials and vacate the buildings immediately," authorities wrote, requesting that all 300 residents prepare for the evacuation, which took place at 11.30am.
The order was given following a significant rockslide in the Kleines Nesthorn region. Along with sweeping away part of a local glacier, the slide triggered a wave of debris, described by onlookers to be the size of an avalanche. While it stopped 500 metres above the river outside Blatten, crisis team head of information Mathtias Ebener told SRF that “it’s clear to everyone that [another] rockslide is imminent”.
With heavy snowmelt expected further up the mountain, a much larger landslide “is indeed imminent,” head of the Natural Hazards Department of Canton Valais Alban Brigger noted. He predicted that between two and five million cubic metres of rock and water would slide into the valley, either on May 19 or in the early hours of May 20. In the worst-case scenario, the slide will envelop the whole town and the River Lonza.
As it stands, all people and animals have been successfully evacuated from the town. Many residents are staying with friends and family, with Valais officials now looking for accommodation for those affected. Much like the mass evacuation which occurred in Brienz/Brinzauls in 2023, only time will tell if and when locals will be able to return to their homes.