The Swiss village of Blatten was partially destroyed after a massive mass of glacier struck the valley.
The village had been evacuated a few days ago due to fear that the Birch Glacier might be collapsing, but one person has been reported missing, with many homes completely flat.
Local governments have described the situation as “very bad” and are calling for assistance from the Swiss Army Disaster Relief Unit. Members of the Swiss government are heading to the scene.
The village’s 300 residents had to leave their homes on May 19 after geologists monitoring the area warned that the glacier would appear unstable. Now many of them may never be able to return.
The disaster that befalls Bratten is the worst nightmare for communities across the Alps.
Climate change is causing glaciers – ice rivers – to melt faster and faster, and it also thaws permafrost, often called glue that holds tall mountains together.
Drone footage showed a large section of a white-green glacier collapsed at 15:30 (14:30 BST) on Wednesday. The mud avalanche swept over the Bratten sounded like a deafening roar.
Glacierologists monitoring thawing have warned for years that some alpine towns and villages could be at risk, and Bratten is not even the first to evacuate.
In eastern Switzerland, residents of the village of Brienz were evacuated two years ago. Because the mountainside above it had collapsed.
Since then they have been allowed to return for a short period of time.
In 2017, eight hikers were killed and many homes were destroyed.
The latest report on the condition of Swiss glaciers suggests that if global temperatures agreed 10 years ago by 200 countries under the Paris Climate Agreement cannot be maintained at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, everything could disappear within a century.
Many climate scientists suggest that the target has already been overlooked. This means that glacier melting continues to accelerate, increasing the risk of flooding and landslides, and threatens more communities like Bratten.
