Ice-rock avalanches in a warming Himalaya indicate pathways toward effective preparedness

When a massive wall of ice and rock collapsed into the Rishiganga valley in Chamoli, India, in 2021, it destroyed hydropower plants, swept away bridges, and killed over 200 people. Four years later, a large ice–rock avalanche struck Blatten, Switzerland, burying most of the village yet causing only one casualty. The difference between catastrophe and survival was not luck, but preparedness, monitoring, and rapid response. In Blatten, authorities and residents acted on precursory signs of slope instability, enabling timely evacuation. This Perspective asks why such hazard preparedness remains rare in the Himalaya. We contrast Chamoli’s devastation with Blatten’s near-escape, assess progress made in the Himalaya since 2021, and examine whether the region is better prepared today. We then explore how elements of the Swiss early-warning approach, especially integrated monitoring, communication, and community-linked response, can be adapted to Himalayan realities to transform potential disasters into survivable events. Climate change is increasing the risk of ice-rock avalanches in the Himalaya while preparedness and recognition remain limited, according to a reassessment of the 2021 Chamoli disaster, lessons from the Blatten near-miss, and analysis of institutional gaps that motivate an anticipatory hazard governance framework.