Sign up to receive this in your email
(No more than once daily, often less depending on the amount of new news.)

2025 Archive Index - All Editions

Eastfjords (Iceland) Residents to Evacuate - Avalanche Warnings

Sunday, Jan 19: Working alongside the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the Commissioner of Police in East Iceland has ordered that residents of Seyðisfjörður and Neskaupstaður evacuate their homes due to a risk of avalanches. The evacuation will go into effect at 6 pm tonight and last until Tuesday. The region is currently under a state of uncertainty regarding avalanche danger and it is reported that there were several avalanches in the area yesterday. An orange warning is currently in effect in East and Northeast Iceland, with plans to be lifted by midnight tomorrow, at the latest. But for tonight and tomorrow, the area will experience very high winds and heavy snowfall.
More ... (Iceland Review)

More: No reports of avalanches in the east

Monday, Jan 20: According to Tómas Jóhannsson, an avalanche expert at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, there have been no reports of avalanches in the Eastfjords overnight or this morning, but yesterday a level of uncertainty was declared due to the risk of avalanches in the Eastfjords. It was decided to evacuate residential and commercial areas in Neskaupstaður and Seyðisfjörður yesterday afternoon, and the total number of residents in the evacuation areas is around 170. "The weather forecast has been correct. The precipitation is decreasing in the east as expected, but then another wave of snow will come in the afternoon. So this will not be over until late this evening or after midnight tonight," Jóhannsson said.

In Seyðisfjörður the accumulated precipitation has exceeded 100 millimeters since noon yesterday. "There is a lot of snow in Seyðisfjörður and Neskaupstaður, but we have not had any news of avalanches, which is not expected because it is impassable in many places and people have not been on the road," says Tómas. He says that two avalanches fell on the road yesterday afternoon. There are orange warnings in East Iceland and the East Fjords due to a northeasterly storm and heavy snowfall in the East Fjords. In East Iceland at Gletting, an orange warning is in effect until 2 pm today and until midnight in the East Fjords.
More ... (Iceland Monitor)

Avalanches on Annapurna Injure Three Climbers

Two avalanches rocketed down the steep slopes of Annapurna over the weekend above Camp 2. The first avalanche missed the only climbing team remaining on the mountain. A second avalanche hit mountaineer Mattia Conte of Italy and five Sherpas from Seven Summit Treks, all of whom survived the blast of snow and ice though three climbers were injured. The event ended the hopes of the climbing team trying to make a winter ascent of Annapurna this season.

According to an Article written by Angela Benavides for ExplorersWeb, the six climbers were working on the route and ropes when they escaped the first avalanche in the gully below Camp 3. They couldn’t avoid the second avalanche that hit the climbers when they were secured to the ropes, which saved their lives. “Pursang Sherpa is now in the hospital to have his back checked, Mattia Conte suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder, and Chhepal Sherpa, whose fall was stopped by other team members, has cut his face,” Filippini wrote. Lakpa Sherpa, Gelu Sherpa, and Tashi Sherpa were not injured.
More ... (si.com) [Link removed Sept 2025, page missing]

Swiss researchers get patent for avalanche warning device

Swiss researchers want to improve avalanche warnings with a new device. The Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) has been granted a patent for the device called "Snowimager", as it announced on Tuesday. The "Snowimager" analyzes the boundaries between different layers of snow in the snowpack. Avalanche wardens still usually measure the snow cover by hand, which is time-consuming. According to the SLF the device speeds up and objectifies this process. The device therefore has the potential to replace traditional, manual snow profiles in the long term.

Individual snow layers differ, for example, in the density and type of snow crystals. Their boundaries and composition are important for avalanche warning services in order to identify weak layers. This is because these can break, either spontaneously or under pressure, for example from a skier. The density of the snow cover also plays an important role in providing timely warnings of floods.
More ... (bluewin.ch)

Skier dies in avalanche in Swiss Alps

A 27-year-old ski tourer has died in the hospital in Sion, in southwestern Switzerland, after being caught in an avalanche on Saturday. He died from his injuries on Tuesday. The Valais cantonal police reported that the young man was carried several hundred metres by an avalanche on Saturday while descending from the Grand Tavé summit through a rocky ravine, where he was buried under the snow.

The victim’s companion quickly raised the alarm and started searching with an avalanche transceiver. She managed to find him before the rescue services arrived. The victim was airlifted to a hospital in Sion with severe injuries. The public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation to determine the circumstances of the accident.
More ... (SwissInfo)