Residents of Kandersteg, Switzerland, are living below a mountain slope that has been moving for years, but warming temperatures and thawing permafrost have reportedly raised the stakes.
An Associated Press report published by The Weather Channel describes an estimated 15 to 20 million cubic meters of unstable material at Spitze Stei above the village. Experts quoted in the story reportedly consider progressive breakdown more likely than one sudden collapse of the entire mass, but the low-probability large event remains part of the emergency planning. The article compares the risk to the village to the tragic event that buried the nearby town of Blatten about one year ago.
The slope is monitored, evacuation plans are in place, and land-use decisions account for debris-flow and rockfall hazards. Reportedly, there is a permanent exclusion zone near the base of the mountains because of rockfall and debris flows, but I can’t confirm that on the municipality’s website since it’s in German.
Monitoring and early warning can buy time and support better decisions, but they don’t make the mountain safe. This is a great example of what long-term geohazard risk management looks like when the ground, climate, and acceptable level of risk are all changing.
Be the first to comment