Direct operations too dangerous in Swiss landslide valley

By Friday morning 365 people had been forced to leave their homes because of Wednesday's landslide in the Swiss village of Blatten. The geological situation is still too dangerous for direct operations. The lake behind the debris is under constant observation. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The River Lonza and the reservoir in Ferden are also being continuously monitored, the Valais State Chancellery said. The canton has installed measuring devices for this purpose. The landslide mass, which is several dozen metres high and around two kilometres long, is blocking the Lonza, which is why a lake has formed. + Flood risk threatens Swiss valley after ‘millennium event’ glacier collapse The canton put the total volume of ice and rock deposits on the valley floor at ten million cubic metres. Over the course of Friday morning, the lake level approached the upper edge of the debris mass. The authorities expected the dammed lake to overflow during the course of ...