Situation in Blatten stable but steady rockfall continues

Situation in Blatten VS stable - steady rockfall continues Keystone-SDA

The situation in the landslide area of Blatten in southwestern Switzerland remained stable on Monday night. There were no recognisable changes on the Birch Glacier. On the Kleine Nesthorn, however, smaller rockfalls continue to occur.

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This is also why the debris cone at the bottom of the valley is still not accessible and has not been cleared for clearing work, Fernando Lehner from the regional command staff told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA on enquiry. The corridor above the glacier holds around 300,000 cubic metres of rock.

Partial inspections by experts were planned for Tuesday. This should allow the natural hazard assessment to be updated. It was also clarified whether individual zones could be authorised to carry out certain work in consultation with the management team.

Lehner explained that the construction of a rescue road to Ried and Eisten, the clearing of the new bed of the River Lonza and the removal of alluvial debris by helicopter have priority.

The search for the missing man, which had been resumed the previous day, was continued. The 64-year-old local man had apparently been surprised by the glacier collapse on Wednesday afternoon when he was looking after his sheep.

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Lake level stable

The level of the lake behind the debris cone has stabilised in the meantime, the regional command staff wrote in a press release. There are currently no particular challenges with regard to the weather situation.

The lake was created by the dammed Lonza. From Friday onwards, the water slowly began to make its way out of the dam. At times, there was a great danger of the lake overflowing and causing flooding further down the Lötschental valley. Emergency services are constantly monitoring the situation.

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The river continued to fill the reservoir in Ferden, which had been emptied as a precautionary measure. Because the concentration of sediment in the water was too high, it was still not possible to pump water out using turbines, Lehner said. The bottom outlet of the reservoir therefore remained partially open. This measure allows the water to flow from the reservoir into the Lonza.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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