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| Avalanche Statistics |
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| It is notoriously difficult to collect comprehensive worldwide statistics about
avalanches. The Cyber Snow and Avalanche Centre, however,
keeps a running tally of avalanche accidents and fatalities each year. |
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A quick analysis of its incident pages shows around 200 deaths from avalanches
each year, although this probably represents
only a proportion of the true figure, compared to the number of road deaths
worldwide, avalanches are not a major killer.
The fact is that you are far more likely to die travelling to or from a ski
resort than in an avalanche. But that is little comfort for the thousands of
people whose lives have been ruined by losing a loved one in this tragic way.
Ski and ride safely. |
The ferocity of the 1998/99 European winter can clearly be seen in the
jump to 95 fatalities from 20-30 deaths in previous seasons.
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Avalanche Fatalities by Geography and Year |
| Continent |
1996/97 |
1997/98 |
1998/99 |
1999/00 |
2000/01 |
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| North America |
33 |
48 |
49 |
35 |
21 |
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| Europe |
31 |
20 |
95 |
54 |
30 |
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| Asia |
109 |
45 |
42 |
11 |
3 |
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| Latin America |
2 |
3 |
- |
7 |
- |
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| Australia/New Zealand |
3 |
- |
- |
2 |
- |
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| Russia & ex-CIS |
4 |
57 |
8 |
19 |
- |
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| Middle East (Turkey, Iran etc) |
6 |
47 |
4 |
20 |
12 |
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| Total |
188 |
220 |
198 |
148 |
66 |
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Source:
Cyber Snow
and Avalanche Centre |
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Note: Statistics are based on official and media reports. Figures
for Asia, Middle East, Ex-CIS and Latam are likely to be substantially
under-reported due to difficulty of gathering information.
Figures for
Europe are likely to be under-reported due to suppression of adverse news
by local, regional and national tourism authorities.
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Avalanche Fatalities by Activity |
| Activity |
Number of deaths |
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| In the Village |
85 |
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| Skiing |
25 |
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| On the Road |
23 |
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| Snowboarding |
11 |
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| Snowmobiling |
13 |
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| Climbing |
7 |
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| Cafe/Restaurant |
4 |
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| Workers |
3 |
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| Hiking |
2 |
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| Sledding |
1 |
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| Snowshoeing |
1 |
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| Hunting |
1 |
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| Other |
22 |
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| Total |
198 |
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Source:
Cyber Snow
and Avalanche Centre |
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| Note: Figures for fatalities "In the Village" were unusually
high in 1998/99 due to the terrible twin tragedies in Galtuer and Valzur,
which together caused 38 deaths.
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