Avalanche buries homes in Austria

A massive avalanche in the Austrian Alps buries homes and kills 13 people in
Valzur on this day in 1999. The avalanche came only one day after an avalanche
in the neighboring village of Galtur killed 25 people.

The winter of 1998-99 featured continuously heavy snow in much of Austria, as
well as in Switzerland and the French Alps. On February 17, dry, light snow came
down across the region. This was followed a couple of days later by warmer
temperatures and heavy wet snow and rain in some locations, creating ripe
avalanche conditions. In addition, gale force winds left the tops of the
mountain peaks bare and forced the snow onto overloaded sheltered slopes.

Many towns and villages issued avalanche warnings. Monaco's Princess
Caroline, who was staying in Lech, Austria, was evacuated along with 100 others
as a precaution. The Chamonix Valley in France was closed on February 22, and
that same day, 10 people died in an avalanche in Valais, Switzerland. In the
Paznaum Valley of western Austria, the resorts stayed open, though most of the
regular ski trails were closed temporarily.

On February 23, people had gathered for a ski race through the town of
Galtur, when an avalanche came roaring down through the town at 180 miles per
hour. Dozens of homes and chalets were buried by up to 45 feet of snow and ice.
The following day, as Austrian soldiers arrived to help with the relief and
rescue effort, the neighboring village of Valzur was hit by its own
600-foot-wide avalanche. Very few people were pulled out alive from the snow and
ice, though one four-year-old boy, Alexander Walter, did recover after spending
two hours covered by snow.

The death toll of 38 in Galtur and Valzur was the worst in Austria since 54
died at Blons in 1954. Prime Minister Viktor Klima declared February 28 a
national day of mourning. In the aftermath, critics blamed the tourism industry
for not being more proactive in warning of the danger. Officials may have
discounted the risk because such avalanches were virtually unprecedented in the
area.