BLATTEN - By Thursday morning the Lonza was no longer a river through a village. Debris from Wednesday's collapse of the Birch glacier had dammed the valley. Water backed up against ice, mud and rock, forming a lake where streets had been.
Engineers and the army looked at whether the dam would hold, overtop or cut a new path. About 300 people were already out. One man remained missing. Downstream communes were warned about sudden water.
A lake that should not exist
Protective structures are built for the hazards on last year's map. This lake was not on that map. Pumping and channels would come later. First came the watching.