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Blatten

There are some dramatic pictures and videos emerging from the Swiss village of Blatten, and plenty can be found online.

The village had been evacuated some days ago because of fears the Birch glacier was disintegrating, one person has been reported missing, and many homes have been completely flattened.

Blatten's mayor, Matthias Bellwald, said "the unimaginable has happened" but promised the village still had a future.

Local authorities have requested support from the Swiss army's disaster relief unit and members of the Swiss government are on their way to the scene.

The disaster that has befallen Blatten is the worst nightmare for communities across the Alps.

The village's 300 inhabitants had to leave their homes on 19 May after geologists monitoring the area warned that the glacier appeared unstable. Now many of them may never be able to return.

For more on this, check out David Redfern's Substack, which includes an excellent analysis of the situation. Subscribe to it while you are there.

The BBC has also produced a scrolling photo story which has brought the situation up to date.



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