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Las avalanchas son menos mortales de lo que dicen.

Las avalanchas son menos mortales de lo que dicen.
Avalanches are less deadly than they say.
From Lesson 278:Clausal comparatives with adjectives (más... de lo que)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Las avalanchas son menos mortales de lo que dicen.

Why do we use de lo que instead of just que for "than"?
Normally, "less than" is menos que. But because we are comparing an adjective (mortales) to a whole clause with a conjugated verb (dicen), Spanish requires de lo que. You can think of it as meaning "less deadly than that which they say."
Why does the sentence start with Las when the English translation just says "Avalanches"?
When you talk about a noun in a general or universal sense in Spanish, you must use the definite article. Since we are talking about avalanches in general, we need Las before avalanchas.
Could I use están instead of son here?
No, you need son (from ser). Being "deadly" is an inherent characteristic or defining trait of these natural disasters, not a temporary condition or a state, which is when you would use estar.
Is there a specific subject for dicen here?
No, this is an example of the impersonal "they," just like in the English phrase "than they say." It refers to people in general, society, or the media, rather than a specific group you can point to.

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