Switzerland declares third alert level over 250,000 tonnes of ice — RMF24

In the village of Randa in the Swiss canton of Valais, the third alert level has been declared in a four-level warning system. The reason is an ice block weighing about 250,000 tonnes that is sliding from a glacier on the slopes of the Weisshorn. As RMF24 reports, if it collapses, the mass of ice could trigger a large snow and ice avalanche.

Risk zones closed

In Randa, where around 450 people live, the ice block has shown increasing activity since August. Natural hazard specialists are continuously monitoring the situation on the slope, and residents are regularly informed about the risks.

Local authorities have designated closed zones where access is prohibited. The highest, fourth alert level provides for immediate evacuation. It will be declared if the detachment of the ice mass becomes inevitable.

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Ice is moving up to 20 centimetres per day

Valais canton natural hazards engineer Norbert Karlen told the newspaper Blick that the ice block is currently shifting downward by up to 20 centimetres per day. Expected snowfall is causing additional concern: over the coming weeks, more than a metre of fresh snow may accumulate on the plateau of the Bisgletscher glacier beneath the block.

According to Karlen, if the entire block breaks away, it will pull along the snow lying below it. Stefan Margreth, an expert at the SLF Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, noted that with an unstable snow cover, the ice avalanche could trigger additional snow avalanches in the valley.

At the same time, specialists consider the probability of the worst-case scenario to be low: extremely dangerous avalanche conditions occur on fewer than 5% of winter days. The risk of a chain reaction will be lower if the ice mass breaks away when the snow cover is stable or disintegrates into several smaller fragments.