Revision:Avalanches: Chamonix and Galtur, February 1999

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Avalanches: Chamonix and Galtur, February 1999

Where did the avalanches occur?

Chamonix and Galtur are located in France and Austria, respectively. The sketch map below pinpoints their location:

(Missing map)

Why did the avalanches occur?

Most avalanches begin within weak layers of snow, which evolve within the snow-pack or form on top of the snow and become buried. Eventually these weak layers can no longer hold up the weight on the overlying snow, and will give way causing the snow above them to break free and slide downhill.

Major temperature changes, rapid wind speed and man-made influences, such as the weight of two skiers, often trigger avalanches before they would naturally occur.

The following discusses the specific causes of the Chamonix and Galtur avalanches:

Chamonix, 9th February 1999

On the 7th of February a deep depression traversed France. Over three days it dumped more than two meters of snow on Chamonix. In the high winds snow accumulated to alarming depths above the town. On the afternoon of the 9th of February, the pressure became too much and an avalanche of snow 1.5 meters deep and over an area of 30 hectares broke away.

Galtur, 23rd February 1999

From the 3rd February, heavy snowfalls occur. By 17th February there are blizzard conditions and several minor avalanches have occurred. On 23rd February an 800m section of snow breaks off and travels at 1300mph down the mountainside. 6 seconds later it had hit the village of Galtur.

Why, despite several warnings, were people unprepared for the events?

An article in the Independent at the time quoted a local as saying that “No one dreamed anything like this could happen”. Scientists agreed, saying “This area was in the safest possible zone for avalanches”.

The Chamonix valley was regarded as the Alpine equivalent of an extinct volcano, it had not experienced an avalanche since 1908. This meant that, despite a high perception of what to do in an emergency, the town was caught unexpectant.

Additionally, the avalanche occurred so fast that people had no time to react at all. Rescuers found people in their positions when the avalanche struck; “sitting, eating, sleeping”.

The case was very much the same for the Galtur avalanche.

Discuss the impacts of the avalanches on local people, property and economy

The following table discusses the impacts of the two avalanches on local people, property and economy:

Discuss the longer term implications for the winter sports industry in European Alpine regions

Newspapers with headlines such as “Alpine paradise smothered” and “Is it too dangerous in the Alps?” do nothing for the Alps tourism industry. This negative reporting is always bound to have a subsequently negative impact on the tourism industry, which is a shame as headlines, even certain articles, never reflect the efficiency of the European rescue teams and how many lives were saved. They merely reflect on the numbers of dead and the ‘drama-catastrophe’ element of the incident.

It can be argued that, much in the same way that the economic ‘multiplier effect’ occurs, a social multiplier effect often occurs when incidents such as these happen. Those tourists that were effected by the incident travel home and tell their friends and families, and so on until many people have ‘first-hand’ accounts of the catastrophe. This could lead to a wave of terror and a decrease in the number of tourists visiting the Alps.

With globalisation making cheap flights to the USA more available, it is becoming much easier for tourists to abandon the Alps and go to other winter-sports regions, such as the Rocky Mountains. This will have negative implications for the Alps tourist industry, especially if they cannot combat the pessimism reported in the Press when avalanches occur.

Comments

These notes are aimed at students studying for Edexcel (B) Unit 5 - Hazards, though will be suitable also for people studying with different exam boards and at different levels.

They were originally submitted by dudey_cool in this post on TSR Forums.