Evolène avalanche
The Evolène avalanche of 21 February 1999, killed 12 people in the Swiss canton of Valais. Just two days later, the larger avalanche of Galtür caused 31 deaths in Austria.
Where it happened
Switzerland, as Wikidata places it.
- Winter storms and snow
The record
- Date
- February 21, 1999
- Kind
- Avalanche
- Where
- Switzerland
- Country
- Switzerland
What happened
The Evolène avalanche of 21 February 1999, killed 12 people in the Swiss canton of Valais. Just two days later, the larger avalanche of Galtür caused 31 deaths in Austria.
Evolène is a commune consisting of several far-flung villages. From Evolène proper (at 1371 m altitude) to Les Haudères (1454 m) and further up to Arolla (2006 m), the valley, situated between Zermatt and Verbier, is a rather little-known tourist destination.
The snow buildup being caused by the same weather phenomenon as in the Galtür catastrophe, the avalanche danger was raised in all alpine areas. For the Bernese Oberland, the Swiss institute for avalanche research (SLF) estimated the avalanche danger to be "very large" ("sehr groß"), but only "large" for that part of Valais.
Sources
Wikidata Q1671571 (CC0); text from Wikipedia, “Evolène avalanche”, CC BY-SA 4.0.