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and for not having to evacuate the chalets on time. A representative of the families of those who died from the avalanches spoke out saying a reminder of the mayors of neighboring communes that they have much more important priorities than organizing festivals during times like these. After the disaster, planning towards avoiding natural disasters were taken much more seriously and mapping of avalanche hazard zones were studied on more. A small memorial was made in front of the
Peclerey slope in memory of the lives lost in the avalanche, a cross surrounded by slabs of stone.
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141:. The avalanche traveled at a maximum speed of 60 mph(almost 100 km/h), accelerating faster as it headed towards the hamlet. It had grown to a size of 300,000 cubic meters of snow as it traversed through the slopes. When it finally crashed down unto Montroc, more than 100,000 tonnes of snow had covered the entirety of Chamonix at a maximum depth of 5 meters deep.
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the
Chamonix ski resort. Most homes that were newly built were near the paths of the avalanche suffered greatly. Not only were buildings covered underneath the snow, multiple people were also buried by the avalanche. As rescue efforts began searching for survivors or bodies that were under the snow, 12 people have been found to have died.
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of the slope. The end of the slope slightly curves upward from the bed of the Arve river towards the road and the local communities. Surprisingly, the angle from the top of the slope to the road was measured at 25 degrees which would have resulted in the avalanche of having a smoother and less intense run weakening the avalanche.
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In the valley above the towns had become a bowl of snow piling up due to the heavy snowfall. The snow had risen to about 2450 at the peak of the slope. Multiple skiing resorts across the French-Swiss border were forced to closed due to the ongoing risks of a potential avalanche near the alps. As the
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The
Peclerey slope wherein the avalanche occurred consisted of two convex slopes of slides, one starting at 2450 meters which ends at 1947 meters halfway down the entire slope, and the second slope wherein another avalanche could have occurred starts at around 1700 meters and ends at the very bottom
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The violent force of the avalanche caused widespread damage across
Chamonix, especially Montroc. According to records, 14 buildings were completely destroyed while 6 other structures only sustained minor to severe damage. 20 cabins were also said to have been destroyed by the avalanche, mostly near
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The consequences from the avalanche could have been less worse if it weren't for the poor planning from the committees and authorities. The mayor of
Chamonix at the time was sentenced to prison for 3 months for second degree murder and involuntary homicide for the 12 deaths caused by the avalanche
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At the beginning of the year the winter had been dry but enough to plan opening up the local ski resorts in Le Tour and
Chamonix early. The anticipated snow finally arrived on January 26, covering up Le Tour and Chamonix in 1 meter thick snow. Then after, the conditions in the area became dry once
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At around 2:40 in the afternoon, as the local authorities were discussing on plans of evacuating the people, a piece of snow which was 1.5 meters deep with an area of 30 hectares had overflowed from the valley until it reached the edge of the slope and started its travel towards the hamlet of
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occurred on
February 9, 1999, 14:20 local time. Twelve people died in the avalanche, and multiple structures were either damaged or completely destroyed due to the massive force. The avalanche was said to be one of the most destructive to ever occur in the French Alps since the
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again. However, on
February 7, a depression crossed France covering up Chamonix and nearby communes in 2 meter thick snow over the next three days. A storm of this magnitude had never been said seen since 1978.
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conditions became more dangerous, rumors had begun to spread as well, claiming that multiple snow slides had already damaged a skiing lift in Le Tour.
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389:"JUSTICE : le maire de Chamonix Michel Charlet a été condamné à trois mois de prison avec sursis"
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A memorial of the lives lost in the avalanche near the Le
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331:"EXTREME avalanche danger in 2018 vs 1999. What are the main differences?"
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360:"Il y a vingt ans, l'avalanche de Montroc, Ă Chamonix, faisait 12 morts"
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Weather conditions of
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266:"The worst avalanches to ever hit the French Alps"
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185:List of avalanches by death toll
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399:from the original on 2021-04-15
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309:from the original on 2015-10-02
276:from the original on 2016-03-21
244:from the original on 2021-04-27
439:February 1999 events in France
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297:Guardian Staff (1999-02-14).
444:Natural disasters in France
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195:1970 Val-d'Isère avalanche
104:1970 Val-d'Isère avalanche
395:(in French). 2003-07-19.
366:(in French). 2019-02-09.
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434:1999 disasters in France
429:1999 natural disasters
20:1999 Montroc avalanche
145:Damage and casualties
234:"Montroc Avalanche"
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449:French Alps
393:Le Monde.fr
364:France Bleu
418:Categories
403:2022-03-21
374:2022-03-21
345:2022-03-21
313:2022-03-21
280:2022-03-21
248:2022-03-21
201:References
128:Avalanche
110:Geography
82:Avalanche
454:Chamonix
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368:Archived
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163:See also
68:Chamonix
60:Location
33:Chamonix
190:Montroc
154:Impacts
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