Avalanche disaster in Galtür
| Avalanche disaster in Galtür | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| storm | Snowfall ( dust avalanche ) |
| Data | |
| Beginning of the snowfall | January 20, 1999 |
| Tripping | February 23, 1999, around 4 p.m. |
| Snow depth | up to 4 m |
| Avalanche warning level | 5 ( from February 6th ) |
| consequences | |
| affected areas | Galtür and Valzur , Paznaun |
| Damage amount | 10–11 million € property damage |
Map with all linked sites: The avalanche disaster in Galtür in February 1999, which partially buried the village of Galtür and the hamlet of Valzur in the rear Paznaun , a side valley of the Inn , was one of the largest avalanche accidents in the history of Austria and at the same time triggered the largest evacuation operation by helicopter.
History and triggers
The avalanche winter of 1999 in the Alps was one of the most devastating heavy snow events in history. Especially the two stowage positions 27. – 31. January and 5th – 12th February built a mighty, but highly unstable snow cover, which the precipitation from the storage location 17. – 25. February could no longer wear, which then led to numerous self-releases.
From January 20, 1999, there were repeated heavy storms over the North Atlantic, the precipitation fronts of which led to heavy snowfalls on the north side of the Alps. In the Galtür area there was around four meters of fresh snow up to February 23, which means that around six times as much snow fell in February as usual in this month. Even more extreme amounts of snow collected in the area where the avalanches started. This was due to the topography of the mountain ridge in question, which slopes very gently on its windward side at that time into a large high plateau. The stormy wind was able to shift enormous amounts of drifting snow from this plateau to the leeward slope facing Galtür.
This was also very unusual, as the terrain is extremely steep, in which avalanches with comparable snow accumulation usually resolve much more spontaneously and thus do not reach the size of 1999. In this way, one can understand the somewhat confusing fact that the Galtür accident ultimately resulted in an extremely stable snow cover. The sequence of several storm lows with correspondingly large temperature jumps from arctic cold to temperatures close to freezing point as well as a one to two day break between the major precipitation events meant that the fresh snow was able to settle and stabilize so that it could catch the next snow again could. At the same time, no pronounced weak layers could form in the snow cover during the short pauses in precipitation.
The collapse of the snowpack, which had grown enormously up to then, was delayed until February 23, 1999. On this day, the connection to the angular snowpack foundation from the early winter of the year gave way under the enormous weight on it and the avalanche went down to the valley with a 100 meter high cloud of dust at a speed of up to 250 km / h. It is estimated that the avalanche had a snow mass of 300,000 tons.
The catastrophe
The heavy snowfalls had led to numerous traffic obstructions in western Austria. Between the end of January and February 18, helicopters of the Austrian Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior had to carry out around 40 supply, game feeding and reconnaissance flights with avalanche commissions .
From 27./28. In January there were avalanche warning levels from 3 in the Paznaun area , but again and again 4/5, and the Silvretta Bundesstraße (B 188) between Pians and Galtür - the only access road to Galtür, as the Silvretta High Alpine Road from Wirl is generally closed in winter closed for security reasons from February 6th, so that the region could no longer be reached. In Paznaun, from February 9, supply flights had to be flown with an Alouette III of the armed forces stationed in Schwaz , as the only access road was closed again. The last time she was banned was a whole week. It was only opened for a few hours on Saturday, the 13th, to enable the holidaymaker to change shifts. At that time, there were around 5,000 holidaymakers in the valley in addition to the approximately 850 inhabitants.
The expert Franz Fliri from Tyrol was one of the critics who had strongly advocated an early eviction of Galtür . His argument that there were 13 avalanches with a total of 57 deaths in Galtür over a period of 500 years was not accepted by Galtür. All of these avalanches had emerged from the now secured eastern slope and not a single avalanche had yet come off the western side, where the avalanches came from this time.
From February 20, 1999, two private Austrian helicopter companies offered those trapped the opportunity to fly them out for around 180 euros.
Tuesday, February 23, 1999: The great avalanche
On February 23, 1999, the supply flights with helicopters of the Austrian Armed Forces, which had been carried out from February 20, had to be discontinued due to the bad weather conditions. Since the lifts were also closed because of the heavy snowfall that day, a barrel stave ski race was held in the middle of town. This ended only a few minutes before the avalanche hit the venue.
The first avalanche with a width of around 400 meters went off on February 23, 1999 at around 4 p.m. from the slope north of Galtür below the ridge between Grieskopf and Grieskogel ( Sonnberg ). The demolition site was about 2,700 meters above sea level, the slope there is up to 125%. The avalanche, which divided several times, destroyed numerous houses and buried over 50 people, of whom around 20 were rescued relatively quickly.
At around 4:30 p.m., the report of a large avalanche arrived at the Pontlatz barracks in Landeck . The snowstorm prevented the take-off of army helicopters with aid teams. In an emergency meeting it was decided to start the relief flights at 06:45 the next day and to make the necessary preparations during the night. If the weather permits, the flights should also be carried out during the night.
The residents of Galtür and trapped holidaymakers were therefore left to their own devices during the night to search for those buried and take care of the injured. Among other things, an emergency hospital was set up in the sports hall, where the community doctor, doctors and nurses who were among the tourists looked after the avalanche victims.
About three hours after the first avalanche, the Tyrolean state warning center was overwhelmed by calls from concerned relatives who, like the media, asked for information. About 20 camera teams applied for a permit for helicopter flights to Galtür because of the no-fly zone.
Because of countless phone calls, both the landline and mobile phone networks were so overloaded that it was almost impossible to contact the people in charge in Galtür. Therefore, around 7:30 p.m., the shortwave group of the Red Cross Regional Association of Tyrol was commissioned to establish a radio link to the community, which was cut off from the outside world. The contact person there was the doctor and radio amateur Walter Köck, who could finally be reached a few minutes after 9 p.m. On February 24th at around 9 p.m. the first emergency operation of a shortwave group of the Red Cross was ended.
Around midnight another avalanche went off in the direction of Galtür, but this did not claim any human life.
Since the task force considered the strength of the aviation forces deployed to be insufficient, the Austrian federal government sent a request for help to NATO and Austria's neighboring countries on the night of February 23rd to 24th, 1999 . The hospitals in the vicinity prepared for a large number of injured people for the next few days. Operations that were not urgently needed were postponed. Vehicles for the ambulance and emergency doctors were moved to the Pontlatz barracks in Landeck.
Wednesday February 24, 1999: Valzur
Since the determination of suitable landing sites in Galtür was too uncertain due to the Austrian military map, a danger zone map was adapted during the night by the spatial planner responsible for Galtür with the aid of information received via the shortwave radio of the Red Cross and the fire department and made available to the crisis team posed.
From 6.45 a.m., the first helpers, around 200 people, avalanche search dogs, medical material, etc., could be brought to Galtür with the army helicopters. In the course of the morning, the number of helpers was increased to around 400. From about 07:15 the first critically injured by helicopter were Christophorus 5 of ÖAMTC to Zams taken to hospital.
To satisfy the media's need for information, a media center was set up in the Pontlatz barracks. In addition, members of the Army Photo and Film Office were flown in to Galtür in order to provide the journalists with image and film material. Only after the last missing person had been recovered were reporters and film teams - a total of around 150 people - flown to Galtür in military helicopters to get an idea of the situation for themselves and at a press conference with the local operations manager, the mayor, the governor of Tyrol , Wendelin Weingartner , as well as helpers in the rescue work.
From about 4 p.m. heavy snowfall began again, so that flight operations had to be stopped again. Shortly afterwards there was another avalanche in neighboring Valzur , in which ten people were buried. A helicopter pilot from the interior ministry's flight police , who hadn't made it back to Landeck with his helicopter before the snowstorm, risked the flight to Valzur, five kilometers away, despite the bad weather. In this way, around 150 helpers with search dogs and equipment could be brought to the site in a relatively short time . Four buried people could still be rescued alive.
Although the first foreign workers arrived in Tyrol, they could no longer be deployed due to the weather.
At around 8 p.m., the search for people buried in Valzur had to be interrupted due to excessive avalanche danger. The search was resumed in the morning hours of the next day. It ended on February 26th at 12 noon.
Thursday February 25, 1999
In much better weather than in the days before, the pilots of the armed forces were able to resume their transport flights in the morning. The foreign helicopters arrived in the operational area in the course of the morning. After being briefed on the situation, they began their task. Landing sites in the Inn Valley were the barracks in Landeck and the closed Inntal motorway near Imst , in Paznaun Galtür , Ischgl , Kappl , Mathon , Paznaunerhof, Tschaffein, Valzur, Versahl and Wirl. In order not to trigger any further avalanches due to the air vibrations caused by air traffic, the helicopters flew below the tree line where possible and with an appropriate safety distance to the mountain slopes. The rule of law was used to fly.
Friday February 26, 1999
The weather for flying was also good on Friday, so the planes were able to fly at extremely short intervals. During the day, French Air Force helicopters also arrived to take part in the rescue operation. Three Austrian Agusta Bell 212s and one Alouette III operated from the Walgau barracks in Bludesch in Vorarlberg . They found support in a UH 1D from Germany and a Swiss Super Puma .
Saturday February 27, 1999
On this day, the rescue operation on the Galtür avalanche was ended. However, members of the Austrian Armed Forces were still busy cleaning up until June 17, 1999.
On February 28, the avalanche warning level was lowered to 3 for the first time, and at 6 p.m. the road between Pians and Galtür was completely open to public traffic again.
Care of the evacuees
Collection points for the evacuees were the Pontlatz barracks (Landeck) and the Verdroß barracks (Imst). Initial care was provided here (including food, but also medically and, for the first time in Austria in the event of a disaster, also psychologically by around 30 voluntary psychologists and psychiatrists) and registration. Representatives from the German and Dutch embassies were also present. People who wanted to return to their homeland immediately afterwards were taken to the train stations by bus. From there, they were brought to their hometowns across Europe either free of charge by scheduled trains or special trains.
In addition to Austria, units from Germany , the United States , France and Switzerland were also involved in the rescue operation, which ultimately included the Paznaun, Kaunertal , Pitztal and Stanzertal .
- Austrian Armed Forces : 16 Agusta Bell 212 , 2 Agusta Bell 204 , 7 Alouette III
- German Armed Forces : 5 UH-1D , 5 CH-53G
- Federal Border Guard (Germany): 2 Super Puma
- US Army : 10 Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
- French Air Force : 3 Super Puma, 2 Cougar
- Swiss Air Force : 1 Super Puma
In addition, six helicopters from the Austrian Ministry of the Interior ( Eurocopter AS 350 Écureuil, Long Ranger , Jet Ranger), two EC 135 from the ÖAMTC and nine helicopters from private companies were in use. With a total flight time of 935 hours, 3,364 landings carried 18,406 people and 271,710 kilograms of cargo.
consequences
Victim
The avalanches in Galtür and Valzur claimed a total of 38 deaths, including 31 in Galtür and 7 in Valzur. About 48 people were injured, 12 of them seriously. On 28 February 1999 in place Collegiate of Wilten the official memorial service for the victims of Galtür and Valzur instead.
Victims by country of origin
| Country | dead |
|---|---|
 Germany
|
21st |
 Austria
|
9 |
 Netherlands
|
6th |
 Denmark
|
2 |
| All in all | 38 |
damage
Property damage was recorded including seven destroyed residential and industrial buildings in Galtür and another seven residential buildings in Valzur. In addition, a large number of buildings - around 60 - were damaged to a greater or lesser extent. To this end, around 100 cars were totally destroyed. A commission from the state of Tyrol raised a provisional damage amount of around 140 to 150 million schillings (around 10 to 11 million euros).
Legal responsibility and legal process
After the avalanche disaster in Galtür, the question of legal responsibility for the events arose. With the reference to a natural disaster (“ force majeure ”), the public prosecutor in Innsbruck initially saw no reason for an investigation, but then had to take action due to reports.
The group of people against whom complaints had been made ranged from Governor Wendelin Weingartner to the District Captain of Landeck, the mayor of the communities in Paznaun as head of the avalanche commission and building authority to other individuals. They were accused of endangering people for economic and political reasons.
In February 2001 all proceedings were closed.
While the Innsbruck public prosecutor's office read from an expert report commissioned by the Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research that such a catastrophe could not have been foreseen and that errors and omissions that occurred could not be individually assessed under criminal law, the former German Federal Minister of the Interior Gerhart Baum demanded , who had checked the expert opinion that a German court should initiate relevant investigations.
There were also official acts in the context of disaster tourism and aggressive media reporting: the gendarmerie was investigating a waiter because he had tried to sell forged reservation tickets for evacuation flights. In addition, an act of vandalism was reported on a vehicle of a television station in Ischgl.
See also
literature
- Markus Barnay , collaboration with Manfred Lorenz and Arndt Schafter: Die Avalanche. Exhibition catalog, published by Alpinarium-Galtür-Documentation GmbH, Studien-Verlag, Innsbruck 2004, ISBN 3-7065-4039-8 .
- Edlinger, Staude-Stock: Avalanche protection. Specialized geographic exercise, 2003, technical information on avalanches and measures to protect against avalanches in Galtür , p. 12 ff. ( Pdf , eduhi.at)
- Sarah Gina Steidel: Galtür - A Review. BoD Verlag, Norderstedt 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-4669-4 .
- Bernd Rieken : Is there a shadow over Galtür? Conversations with locals about the 1999 avalanche. A contribution to disaster research. Waxmann Verlag, Münster and New York 2010, ISBN 978-3-8309-2336-7 .
For the avalanche year 1999 in general:
- Martin Laternser: The avalanche winter 1999: Case study Goms (Canton Valais). Supply situation, coping with the crisis situation and economic effects. Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, Davos 2000.
- Michael Bründl, Walter Ammann, Thomas Wiesinger, Paul Föhn, Peter Bebi et al., Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, Davos, BUWAL, Federal Forestry Directorate (ed.): Der Lawinenwinter 1999: Incident analysis . Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (WLS), Davos 2000.
media
Documentations:
- 10 years of Galtür - the chronicle of a catastrophe. Film by Claudia Ernstreiter, Gerhard Jelinek and Peter Liska, ORF series Menschen & Mächte Spezial , first broadcast February 8, 2009
- A sequence of seconds before the accident dealt with the Galtür avalanche.
Movie:
- The avalanche of the century . TV film, Jörg Lühdorff (director), Walter Kärger, Jurgen Wolff (screenplay), Alma Productions, first broadcast February 8, 2009 (ORF, RTL)
Short story:
- The white splendor in the book When it happened by Reinhard Wegerth
Web links
- Avalanche report on the Galtür website
- Illustrated documentation about the airlift
- Disaster relief in Tyrol and Vorarlberg
- Links to the avalanche disaster in Galtür
- Entry on the avalanche disaster in Galtür in the Austria Forum (in the Heimatlexikon)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Archived copy ( memento of the original dated October 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.focus.de/politik/ausland/alpen-rettung-aus-der-todeszone_aid_177436.html
- ↑ http://www.obermiller.com/ischgl.html in the (current available) version of April 30, 2008. ( Memento of April 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c d http://air.droessler.at/berichte/Galtuer/Luftbruecke/luftbruecke_mfluss.htm
- ↑ Der Spiegel: Report on the Galtür disaster. Retrieved April 3, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c Archived copy ( memento of the original dated June 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b http://oe7xrk.gni-web.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=1
- ↑ a b Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b http://www.defence.at/cms/artikel.php?ID=2031
- ↑ http://www.bmlv.gv.at/cms/artikel.php?ID=3262
- ↑ http://www.staedtebund.at/de/oestb/archiv/service/schoenherr_oegz0110.html ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from January 20, 2002 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c http://air.droessler.at/berichte/Galtuer/Luftbruecke/luftbruecke_mstatistikflugweg.htm
- ↑ http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/galtuer-die-zweite-lawine_aid_176054.html
- ↑ http://www.presseportal.de/meldung/222202/
- ↑ [1] on 3sat.de
- ↑ avalanche disaster in Galtür in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- ↑ Press release ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. orf.at
- ↑ Wucher Heli in the TV film on Vorarlberg Online from January 22, 2009, accessed on January 30, 2009.
