A Swiss Village Destroyed by a Landslide - The Atlantic
On May 28, the small Alpine village of Blatten, Switzerland, was almost entirely buried under a massive landslide, following the collapse of a nearby glacier.
Alexandre Agrusti / AFP / Getty
This photograph shows the remaining buildings of the village of Blatten, in the Swiss Alps, buried by a landslide, on May 29, 2025. Blatten residents were evacuated last week after several smaller landslides, but one person remains missing. Rising floodwater from the blocked Lonza river is now inundating the few surviving buildings and threatening downstream villages.
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This archive photo from 2020 shows the village of Blatten as it appeared before the landslide, in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland.
Pomona Media / Reuters
Mud and rocks slide down a mountain after a glacier partially collapsed, burying most of the village of Blatten, on May 28, 2025, in this screen grab taken from a handout video.
Jean-Christophe Bott / Keystone / AP
An aerial view shows the destruction of Blatten, Switzerland, on May 29, 2025, one day after the landslide.
Stefan Wermuth / Reuters
Debris from a crumbling glacier that partially collapsed and tumbled onto the village of Blatten, seen on May 29, 2025.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty
This photograph taken from the nearby village of Ferden shows part of the landslide on May 29, 2025.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty
A helicopter flies above the landslide area in the Lötschental Valley on May 29, 2025.
Stefan Wermuth / Reuters
A helicopter drops equipment in Ried, next to debris from the landslide, on May 29, 2025.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty
A view of the landslide, seen from the nearby village of Ferden on May 29, 2025.
Stefan Wermuth / Reuters
Dust swirls above part of a collapsed glacier on the mountainside above the village of Blatten on May 29, 2025.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty
Floodwater rises in what remains of the village of Blatten, after the landslide blocked the river Lonza, seen on May 29, 2025.
Stefan Wermuth / Reuters
A car is carried by a helicopter out of Blatten on May 29, 2025.
Stefan Wermuth / Reuters
Several sheep are airlifted out of Blatten on May 29, 2025.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty
This photograph taken above Wiler shows the Bietschhorn mountain in the Swiss Alps after part of the huge Birch Glacier had collapsed the day before and destroyed the small village of Blatten, on May 29, 2025.
Alexandre Agrusti / AFP / Getty
The remaining buildings of the village of Blatten, after surviving the landslide, are being slowly swallowed by rising floodwater from the river Lonza, which was blocked by the debris.
