Historic storm in Switzerland –
25 years ago, Lothar swept away thousands of hectares of forests
The hurricane ravaged the country on the morning of December 26, 1999, when more than 14 million cubic meters of wood were thrown to the ground.
Published today at 10:10 a.m.
Firefighters try to free a car from Lothar Woods in Geneva, December 31, 1999.
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BotTalk
25 years ago, storm Lothar caused trees to fall like dominoes in Switzerland. According to the WSL, forests are today better prepared to face such an exceptional event.
Hurricane “Lothar” swept through Switzerland on the morning of December 26, 1999, throwing 14 million cubic meters of wood to the ground, the Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) recalled on Wednesday. In total, 14 people lost their lives.
The Federal Office for the Environment put the total damage at 1.35 billion francs; 600 million francs for construction and 750 million francs for the forest. In total, 2% of trees in Switzerland were toppled or bent.
Thanks to Lothar, many forests have since become more structured, with new habitats for many animal and plant species. As spruce trees have become much rarer on the Plateau, the Swiss forest is now better equipped to face a “storm of the century”.
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