Human consequences
39 dead and 37 injured: the deadliest avalanche in recent French history.
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Avalanche & landslideVal-d’Isère avalanche
39Deaths
Not quantifiedDisplaced / homeless
Not quantifiedEstimated cost
- 39 dead, mostly young holidaymakers, and 37 injured.
After several days of very heavy snowfall, a powder avalanche hits the UCPA chalet at the bottom of the valley at around 8 a.m., while young holidaymakers are having breakfast. The snow bursts into the dining hall through the bay windows.
Consequences
Environmental consequences
A powder avalanche of exceptional speed and volume, triggered by the build-up of fresh snow over the previous days.
Economic consequences
A heavy blow for a resort then booming; the UCPA rebuilds its centre on the same site.
Political consequences
Together with the Plateau d’Assy disaster two months later, it leads in 1971 to the creation of France’s national avalanche association (ANENA) and of avalanche location maps.
Further reading
Similar disasters
- Plateau d’Assy disasterAvalanche & landslide · France1970
- Kolka Glacier collapseAvalanche & landslide · Russia2002
- “White Friday” avalanchesAvalanche & landslide · Italy (Austro-Italian front)1916
- Freetown mudslideAvalanche & landslide · Sierra Leone2017
In the rankings : The worst disasters in France No. 10
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