 |
AvalanchesDoug Fesler of the Alaska Mountain Safety Center says that of all states, Alaska often has the highest yearly per capita number of deaths and injuries caused by avalanches. This is primarily because some of the most-traveled roads pass through avalanche-prone areas, and because there is a high frequency of avalanches in the back country where hikers, skiers, and snowmachiners pursue their activities.
Nationwide, avalanches take more lives than any other natural disaster in the United States. More than floods. More than tornadoes. More than earthquakes. In the first two months of the new millennium alone, 12 people died in avalanches in the United States. Half of the deaths occurred in Colorado. From 1985 to 1998, at least 272 people died in avalanches in the United States. Eighty-five of them occurred in Colorado. Alaska ranked second with 54. Utah had 37, and Montana had 28. Of avalanche deaths in the United States, snowmobilers made up the largest group, followed by backcountry skiers. Mountain climbers came in a surprising third place, with 49 deaths in the U.S. That's a lot of deaths, but it doesn't even begin to measure up against Europe. During this same period a whopping 2,004 people died from avalanches. Snow crashing down the French Alps claimed 394 people, while slides in nearby Austria ended 339 lives. In Switzerland avalanches claimed 297 lives. |
Avalanche linksAvalanche Awareness, National Snow and Ice Data Center, World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder avalanche.org, Westwide Avalanche Network (search on Alaska) Avalanche 2000, State of Alaska Division of Emergency Services, web page |
 |
 |
 |
| Return to Earthquake homepage || Earthquake site map || Alaska Sea Grant homepage |