Authorities say a small Alpine river dammed by a landslide that largely buried the Swiss village of Blatten is now flowing through the debris, and the level of a newly created lake that raised worries about potential new destruction has fallen.

In the Swiss valley of Lötschental, a dramatic landslide nearly destroyed the mountain village of Blatten entirely. A massive avalanche of ice and rocks swept away the buildings. As reported by the German newspaper "Bild,

On May 28, a mass of rock, ice, mud and water crashed down on and buried the mountain village of Blatten in the Swiss canton of Valais. Only a few houses remained standing, and these are now flooded by a pool of water that has formed behind the debris.

The landslide that buried most of a Swiss village this week is focusing renewed attention on the role of global warming in glacier collapses around the world and the increasing dangers.