A Swiss village is evacuated because of a threat of a mudslide
The village of Blatten in the Loetschental, on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Credit: AP/Cyril Zingaro
GENEVA — Swiss authorities evacuated around 100 people from their homes after a mudslide threatened their Alpine village of Blatten in the Lötschental Valley.
The evacuation Saturday night was calm and orderly, local spokesman Matthias Ebener told Swiss newssite 20 Minuten.
“Everyone was able to find private accommodation with relatives or friends, or in other hotels. The tourists affected were relocated to nearby hotels,” he said.
It wasn't immediately clear when the residents would be able to return to their homes, but likely not before Tuesday.
“There is a real risk of rockfalls,” Ebener said, referring to the nearby Kleine Nesthorn Mountain and the Birch Glacier.
Several hiking paths and roads were also temporarily closed.
Last year, residents of the village of Brienz also had to pack up their belongings and leave because of the threat of a possible rockslide from an Alpine mountainside overhead.
A landslide above the village of Blatten in the Loetschental, on Sunday, May 18, 2025. Credit: AP/Cyril Zingaro
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'Success is zero deaths on the roadway' Newsday reporters spent this year examining the risks on Long Island's roads, where traffic crashes over a decade killed more than 2,100 people and seriously injured more than 16,000. This documentary is a result of that newsroom-wide effort.
