A webcam captured the moment an avalanche struck in the Swiss Alpine resort of Zermatt on Jan. 4.
The snow slide was caught on two different cameras belonging to the company Geopraevent, which specializes in creating monitoring equipment for natural hazards. In one of the videos, a man is seen calmly trudging away from the path of the snow.
Lorenz Meier, CEO of Geopraevent, told Reuters that due to their avalanche monitoring system the roads around the area were automatically closed, so no one was hurt or injured.
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The resort airlifted guests by helicopter on Jan. 9 after heavy snow and a power cut stranded thousands of visitors. An estimated 13,000 people were stuck after snow closed mountain lifts, ski runs, walking paths and train services to the village.
With the onset of the wintry weather, avalanche danger in the rugged region of Wallis, which includes Zermatt near the Italian border, is now rated as “very great,” the highest level, according to the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research.
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