Catchment hydrology

The Blatten landslide in Switzerland

Christophe Lambiel June 11, 2025

View on the Blatten landslide from downstream, with the Lonza river finding its way through the landslide; (03 June 2025), credit: Christophe Lambiel

In the morning of May 28, 2025, the picturesque Swiss alpine village of Blatten sat quiet and serene in the Lötschen Valley. Exceptionally quiet, in fact, as the village was evacuated on May 19th after a local Natural Hazards expert spotted a worrisome change in a local mountain looming about the village, the Kleines Nesthorn: it was collapsing faster. The Kleines Nesthorn is a 3,341-meter peak wi ...[Read More]

September 2024 Flooding in Central Europe: The Austrian Experience

Günter Blöschl September 26, 2024

Storm Boris is the latest in a series of deluges during one of Europe’s most flood-prone periods in 500 years, yet Vienna managed to avoid major damage. The city’s preparations may offer valuable lessons for other urban areas facing similar challenges. Dealing With Record Rainfall: September 2024 in Vienna When record rainfall hit Vienna on September 15, the impact was severe: submerged roa ...[Read More]

Hortonian overland flow: when theory becomes reality

Bettina Schaefli August 15, 2024

Hortonian overland flow – if you have ever followed a hydrology class, you have certainly come across this jargon: this is the name of a hydrological process – when rainfall flows off at the terrain surface because the rainfall intensity is so high that not all the water can infiltrate into the soil (rainfall intensity is higher than infiltration capacity). Almost every hydrological m ...[Read More]

Is the Caspian Sea Going to Experience Aral Sea Syndrome?

Amin Sadeqi July 25, 2024

The peril of rising sea levels due to global climate change is evident, posing significant threats. Conversely, inland seas and lakes experience declining water levels, exacerbated by heightened evaporation and diminishing inflows, presenting alarming consequences. Between 1992 and 2020, 53% of global inland water bodies experienced significant declines Currently, several lakes worldwide, such as ...[Read More]