Crack in Swiss mountain sparks landslide and flooding concerns
A slowly expanding fracture on a mountainside in canton Valais is raising concerns of a potential collapse and resulting floods that could impact the village of Chippis in the Rhone Valley.
This content was published on
1 minute
My work is focused on making videos and podcasts about science and technology topics. I specialize in developing explainatory video formats for mobile viewing, mixing animation and documentary styles.
I studied filmmaking and animation at Zurich University of the Arts and began working as a video journalist at SWI swissinfo.ch in 2004. Since then I have specialised in creating different styles of animation for our visual products.
I am a climate and science/technology reporter. I am interested in the effects of climate change on everyday life and scientific solutions.
Born in London, I am a dual citizen of Switzerland and the UK. After studying modern languages and translation, I trained as a journalist and joined swissinfo.ch in 2006. My working languages are English, German, French and Spanish.
The scarp has been widening at a rate of 2-4 millimetres daily since last October – relatively fast for a geological process. The main fissure is now 250 metres long and almost one metre wide.
In a worst‑case scenario, up to 500,000 cubic metres of material could collapse, potentially damming the Navizence River and triggering flooding in Chippis, home to around 1,500 people.
More
More
Climate adaptation
Swiss mountain crack grows after extreme rainfall
This content was published on
A 250-metre-long crack on a Valais mountainside has become a stark sign of the Alps’ growing vulnerability to extreme rainfall.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.