You’ve probably seen the grainy satellite loops or the high-res drone shots by now. One minute, there's a postcard-perfect Swiss village tucked into the Lötschental valley—green pastures, dark timber chalets, and that crisp Alpine air you can almost smell through the screen. The next? A literal sea of grey mud, shattered timber, and ice. Blatten before and after photos aren't just viral clickbait; they are a haunting record of the Birch Glacier collapse that changed the Valais region forever on May 28, 2025.
Honestly, looking at the side-by-side images is jarring. It’s not just "a little bit of damage." We are talking about 90% of a historic village being wiped off the map in a matter of seconds. When the Birch Glacier finally gave way, it triggered a massive rock and ice avalanche that transformed a thriving community into a debris field.
If you're searching for these photos, you're likely trying to wrap your head around how a mountain can just... fall. It’s a lot to take in.
The Day the Mountain Moved
The "before" shots of Blatten show a village that looked like it hadn't changed since the 1800s. It sat at about 1,500 meters, a quiet spot known for its traditional masks and deep-rooted heritage. Then, the Birch Glacier above the village reached a breaking point.
Scientists had been watching it, sure. But the sheer scale of the collapse caught almost everyone off guard. Millions of tons of ice and rock cascaded down, creating a debris cone roughly two kilometers long.
The "after" photos tell a darker story:
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- The Brown Sea: Where there was once grass, there is now a thick layer of mud and glacial till.
- The Missing Landmarks: Entire rows of houses simply vanished.
- The Lonza River: In the aftermath, the debris acted like a natural dam, creating a terrifying "instant lake" that started flooding the few buildings the landslide actually missed.
Basically, the geography of the valley was rewritten in a single afternoon.
Why Blatten Before and After Photos Look So Different
It’s easy to blame "a landslide" and move on, but the mechanics were way more complex. This wasn't just dirt sliding down a hill. It was a cascading failure. Permafrost in the rock mass—the "glue" that holds these mountains together—had been thinning for years.
According to reports from the European Space Agency (ESA), satellite radar had actually been picking up tiny movements in the Kleines Nesthorn area as far back as 2016. If you look at the thermal "before" images used by geologists, you can see the heat signatures and the slow creep of the slope long before the catastrophic break.
The village was evacuated on May 19, 2025. That’s the only reason this isn't a story about a massive loss of life. About 300 residents and their livestock were moved out just nine days before the mountain came down. In the "after" shots, you can see the empty streets that, just a week prior, were full of life. It's eerie.
The Role of the "Instant Lake"
One thing most people miss when scrolling through Blatten before and after photos is the water. The landslide didn't just bury houses; it choked the Lonza River.
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Within 24 hours of the collapse, a lake formed behind the debris, holding about a million cubic meters of water. This created a secondary disaster. The photos from May 30 show houses that survived the initial rockfall suddenly half-submerged in rising water.
Local authorities, led by Mayor Matthias Bellwald, had to manage the risk of this "dam" bursting and wiping out downstream villages like Wiler and Kippel. You can actually see the emergency channels being carved into the mud in the later "after" photos—a desperate attempt by engineers to let the water drain safely.
Reality Check: Can Blatten Be Rebuilt?
This is where the conversation gets tough. People see the photos and think, "Okay, clear the mud and rebuild." But it’s not that simple.
The ground isn't stable. The debris is a mix of rock and melting ice. As that ice melts over the next few summers, the pile will shift and settle. It’s a "moving target" for any architect. Geologists have already hinted that large parts of the original village site might be too risky to ever occupy again.
- Insurance Costs: The Swiss Insurance Association estimated the damage in the hundreds of millions.
- Cultural Loss: You can rebuild a house, but you can't rebuild the history of centuries-old timber that was pulverized.
- Future Risks: With the glacier gone or unstable, the path for future slides is now "wide open."
What to Look for in the Satellite Imagery
When you're comparing these images, pay attention to the color of the debris.
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In the immediate "after" shots from May 2025, the debris is a dark, wet brown. If you look at imagery from later in the year, you'll see it turning a lighter grey as it dries. You can also spot the "scar" on the mountain where the Birch Glacier used to sit. That white-blue patch is gone, replaced by raw, exposed bedrock.
It’s a visual reminder of what glaciologists like Celeste Saulo have called a "potent warning." Switzerland has lost a massive chunk of its glacial volume in just the last few years, and Blatten is the most visible victim of that trend.
Actionable Steps for Understanding Alpine Risks
If you live in or travel to mountain regions, these photos should be more than a curiosity. They’re a blueprint for modern mountain hazards.
- Check Hazard Maps: Most Alpine regions (especially in Switzerland and Austria) have public "Gefahrenkarten" or hazard maps. Before buying or renting, see if a property sits in a "red zone" for landslides or avalanches.
- Follow Early Warnings: The Blatten evacuation worked because people listened. If local authorities suggest a "preventative" move, take it seriously. Modern InSAR satellite monitoring is incredibly accurate at detecting "creep" before a collapse.
- Monitor River Levels: In landslide-prone areas, a sudden drop in a river's water level can mean a blockage upstream. That’s often the first sign of a disaster that hasn't reached you yet.
- Support Local Heritage: Villages like Blatten rely on tourism and local support to recover. Even if the "after" photos look bleak, the community still exists, just currently displaced.
The story of Blatten isn't over. While the photos show a village buried, the effort to stabilize the valley and support the 300 displaced residents continues. It’s a stark example of how quickly the landscapes we think are permanent can change.
Next Steps for Research
You can view the high-resolution Pléiades Neo satellite comparisons through the Airbus Space Gallery or check the official Valais cantonal reports for the most recent geological stability updates on the Lötschental valley.