Natural hazard
The slope in Brienz is slipping again: another evacuation possible
The village of Brienz in Graubünden is not at rest. Once again there are movements in the slope and a spontaneous flow of debris is possible. The population will be informed in the evening.
The cone of rubble after the slide last June.
Bild: Keystone
The situation in the municipality of Brienz in Graubünden is tense again. The slope is moving again: “The measurements show that the uppermost part of the rubble heap has been moving at a rate of more than 30 cm per day since the second half of September,” says the community’s information. A new evacuation of the village must be prepared.
This involves rock masses of up to 1.2 million cubic meters of rock rubble. A debris flow cannot be ruled out; this “could be triggered by further precipitation, a rock fall from above onto the debris heap or by the sustained high speeds.” This means that the municipality of Brienz is back in the “yellow phase”.
Information for the village population is scheduled for Saturday evening. Experts will provide information about the situation. The village was already closed last year due to the risk of landslides. Brienz was completely evacuated from mid-May to mid-June. The landslide actually occurred, but the flow of rubble stopped just before the village.
Swiss
