(SOUNDBITE OF GLACIER COLLAPSING)
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
That is the sound of a collapsing glacier roaring down a mountainside in the Swiss Alps yesterday. It wiped out one village in its path. The destruction it caused surprised officials, who blamed climate change. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley tells us more.
(SOUNDBITE OF GLACIER COLLAPSING)
ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Videos of the Birch Glacier hurtling down the mountainside went viral Wednesday afternoon right after the natural disaster struck. A dark cloud of rock and ice rose up, obscuring the mountainscape. A nearly mile-long strip of ice, rock and mud some 200 yards wide now covers the village of Blatten and its valley.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHRISTOPHE LAMBIEL: (Through interpreter) What happened is catastrophic. It's the worst-case scenario.
BEARDSLEY: That's Christophe Lambiel, a specialist in high-mountain geology and glaciers with the University of Lausanne. He told RTS Swiss Television that despite preparation, no one thought it would be so dramatic. Scientists knew something was coming for weeks. Boulders had been falling off a mountain face onto the glacier, putting weight and pressure on it. Some 3 million cubic yards of rocks and boulders piled up on it in recent years. But despite the violence of the landslide, only one person is missing. That's because Blatten's 300 residents were evacuated more than a week ago.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED TV HOST: (Speaking French).
BEARDSLEY: And not just people - this Swiss TV special shows some of Blatten's cows being airlifted out by helicopter. The Birch Glacier was unique, says geologist Lambiel. While other glaciers are receding, this glacier was advancing due to the pressure and weight of the rockfall. He told Swiss TV that was linked to climate change.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LAMBIEL: (Through interpreter) The rock face was unstable because of the melting permafrost. The permafrost has warmed one degree in the last 10 years.
BEARDSLEY: At a press conference just after the glacier's collapse, shocked Swiss officials spoke.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
ALBERT ROSTI: (Non-English language spoken).
BEARDSLEY: "Nature is stronger than human beings, and no one knows this more than mountain people," said Environment Minister Albert Rosti. "But what happened was the worst we could've imagined." Matthias Bellwald is the mayor of Blatten. He offered words of encouragement.
(SOUNDBITE OF PRESS CONFERENCE)
MATTHIAS BELLWALD: (Speaking German).
BEARDSLEY: "The village is under the gravel, but we're alive, and we're going to get back up," he said. "In solidarity, everything is possible. Blatten has a future." Eleanor Beardsley, NPR News, Paris.
(SOUNDBITE OF MELANIE MARTINEZ SONG, "VOID") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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