Mountain Summit Collapses in Austria

15th June 2023

100,000 cubic metres of rock from the Fluchthorn mountain in the Tirol crashed down the mountain this week. Climate change seems to be to blame. NEW

No one was injured by the rockfall according to the local police.

It was caused by the melting of the permafrost.

Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer of soil and rocks that is often referred to as the glue that holds the mountains together.

The melting of the permafrost is a growing danger in the Alps with the authorities paying closer attention to the implications of it weakening.

The rockfall was caught on camera:

A mountaineer in the Fluchthorn area filmed the result of the collapse:

Last summer there were several incidents:

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As climate change pushes up global temperatures, leading to thawing permafrost and melting snow and glaciers, rockfalls in this region look set to become more common.

“Along with rising permafrost temperatures, loss of ice and higher ground water contents we expect an increase in slope movements and rockfalls at elevations where permafrost is found in the Alps,” said Marcia Phillips, permafrost research group leader at the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Switzerland.

She was quoted by CNN.

Last month 70 people from the Swiss village of Brienze were ordered to leave as it was feared 2-million cubic meters of rock could hit the village.