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Glacier Risks and Disasters in the Alps Mountains. The present paper synthesizes and analyzes the main types of glacier hazards, both with rapid effects (glacier outburst floods, ice avalanches, rock falls, and landslides that affect glacial valley slopes), and with slow effects (glaciers fluctuations). The causes generating glacier hazards and the consequences they bring about are emphasized through theoretical considerations and are supported by examples. The analysis focuses on the Alps Mountains, where glaciers occupy considerable areas and where, over the time, many glacier hazards, some of them with catastrophic damages, have occurred. The capitalization of tourist and hydropower potential of mountain glaciers has increased the economic value of alpine area, but at the same time it enhanced its vulnerability to glacier-related risks.

Key words: glaciers, risks, ice avalanches, glacial floods, tourism, Alps Mountains.