page_title: 1999 Galtür avalanche
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: 1999 Galtür avalanche / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Lawinenschutzmauer am Dorfrand in Galtür, unterhalb des Grieskogels. Paznaun, Tirol, Österreich English: Avalanche protection wall at the village border of Galtür, below the Grieskogel mountain. Paznaun, Tyrol, Austria
context_page_description: The Galtür avalanche occurred on 23 February 1999 in the Alpine village of Galtür, Austria. It took less than 60 seconds to hit Galtür. At 50 metres high and traveling at 290 kilometres per hour, this powder avalanche hit with great force, overturning cars, ruining buildings and burying 57 people. By the time rescue crews managed to arrive, 31 people – locals and tourists – had died. This avalanche was considered the worst Alpine avalanche in 40 years. Three major weather systems originating from the Atlantic accounted for large snowfalls totaling around four meters in the area. Freeze-thaw conditions created a weak layer on top of an existing snow pack; further snow was then deposited on top. This, coupled with high wind speeds, created large snow drifts and caused roughly 170,000 tons of snow to be deposited.
context_section_description: Outraged families demanded to know why the avalanche penetrated the supposedly safe  and devastated Galtür. However, hazard zoning is based nearly entirely on the historical record, and there was no evidence of avalanches traveling so far on this track in the past. Since this disaster there have been renewed efforts to improve avalanche knowledge and forecasting so that hazard zones can be accurately predicted. This is particularly important if land use or climate changes render past information less useful. Response has included the extension of the hazard zones, with steel fences constructed on all mountainsides above the village to break up the areas where unstable snow packs can form, creating smaller shelves overall that reduce the size and scale of any future avalanches. A 300-metre (980 ft) avalanche dam directly protects the village. There has been rezoning, so the former Green zone is now of a higher risk zone.
caption: Avalanche protection wall built after the avalanche of 1999
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