“As if an atomic bomb has exploded,” Harry Leutscher from Emmen describes the situation in the Swiss village of blats that after breaking a glacier was struck by a flood of rubble, ice and melting water. The village has largely been swept away and hundreds of people are suddenly without a roof over the head. Leutscher is at the heart of Leutscher.
The former councilor of the municipality of Emmen has had a home in the affected Lötschental for sixteen years and camps for several months a year. His thoughts have been continuously with the people in the village since the natural disaster. “Small children who can no longer go to school and so many people I have known for years who don’t know what to do now.”
It is also a personal drama for Leutscher himself. “My house has been completely wiped out. There is nothing left of it. I happened to take a painting by Maya Wildevuur to the Netherlands after my last visit, that is all I still have about my house there. I was and still very emotional of all the news.”
Because the danger has not yet passed the area in the coming weeks. Surrounding villages in the Lötschental are also plagued by the natural disasters. “The surrounding villages such as Gampel and Steg have now also been evacuated. And even in blats the situation is not yet safe, they may fear there for another layer of debris that slides down from the mountains.”
The Swiss villages are therefore in the eye of the storm. The end does not seem in sight yet and that makes Leutscher restless. “I am not allowed to go back in the coming period. The army has been deployed to secure the people in the area as well as possible. I feel very much the urge to go there and help the people, but that is not allowed. It gives a feeling of powerlessness. And that is not nice to experience, I can tell you.”
Not to mention the renovation work that awaits the village. “That will take years. But there is no doubt for me. I will go back to live there anyway. The Swiss are known for their precision. After the disaster, the insurance immediately contacted me and said that they are ready to help me. That typifies the Swiss people.”
“Moreover, the country has enough resources to rebuild the village. I especially hope that I can go that way again as soon as possible. Back to home.”