TASMAN

 

Event description

 

On 14 December 1991, shortly after midnight, a 500 m wide by 700 m high rock buttress failed with no apparent trigger, taking with it the top 10 m of the summit of New Zealand`s highest peak (3`764 m). An estimated 14 Mio m³ of rock cascaded down the steep east face of the mountain, an initial fall of about 1`500 m. Then deflected down the local slope to descend a 1`000 m high icefall and cross the Tasman Glacier. The total fall was 2`720 m. When it came to rest, debris was spread to a distance of 7.5 km from its source.

 

Damage

��������

 

Data source

 

IAHS (ICSI) � UNEP � UNESCO (1998): Fluctuations of glaciers 1990�1995, Vol. VII (Haeberli, W., Hoelzle, M., Suter, S., Frauenfelder, R.). World Glacier Monitoring Service, University of Zurich, Z�rich.

 

Remarks