The slope above the village is moving and the authorities are declaring “phase yellow”.
View of the village of Brienz in the summer of 2023. At that time, a flow of rubble almost reached the houses.
Gian Ehrenzeller / Keystone
lip. The slope above the village of Brienz in the canton of Graubünden is moving again. The municipality of Albula announced on Saturday that another stream of debris cannot be ruled out. We are talking about up to 1.2 million cubic meters of rock debris that could fall.
According to the statement, measurements have shown that the uppermost part of the rubble heap has been moving at a rate of more than 30 centimeters per day since the second half of September. The authorities expect the situation to calm down. However, precipitation or a rock fall from above onto the rubble heap could trigger a flow of rubble.
For safety reasons, the community leadership team has therefore decided on the “yellow phase” for the village. A precautionary evacuation of the village is being prepared. It is not yet clear when residents will have to leave their homes. An information event for the public will take place on Saturday at 7 p.m. Experts in geology and natural hazards as well as those responsible for the municipality and the canton of Graubünden provide information about the current situation and the planned measures.
The village was already evacuated in May 2023. On the night of June 16th, part of the slope actually collapsed into the valley. He stopped just before the village. Residents were able to return to their homes at the beginning of July 2023.
Swiss
