Floods are among the most devastating natural hazards, claiming lives and damaging infrastructure. The question of how we can be prepared for these extreme events quickly reaches an almost philosophical level: First of all, what is an extreme event? Second, how can we know what the future will bring? For the last century hydrologists have relied on statistical concepts, which are based on observ ...[Read More]
The Blatten landslide in Switzerland
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]