Brienz must be evacuated by Sunday

The slope above Brienz is moving, rubble and rock are threatening the village. For the second time in two years, the people of Brienz have to leave their home behind. The Graubünden village must be evacuated by Sunday afternoon. Heavy rainfall has accelerated the slides on the slope in recent weeks. It will soon rain again and, according to geologists, up to a million cubic meters of debris could be moved. This was announced by the municipality of Albula, to which Brienz belongs. The orange warning level applies.

In the spring of 2023, the residents of Brienz had to leave their homes once. They had to stay away from their homeland for weeks. On the night of June 16th, part of the slope actually collapsed. 1.7 million cubic meters of material came to a standstill just before the edge of the village.

Now the villagers have to pack their things again, reroute the mail, and reorganize their lives. They have to see where they can stay next time. And they have to ask themselves how much longer they will be able to do this. Will you return to Brienz a second time? Or are they tired – and fleeing the mountain?

At an information event on Tuesday evening, the authorities said that the people of Brienz should prepare for a month-long evacuation. They would probably not be able to return to their homes until spring 2025, if at all. It was said that it was likely that the situation would calm down in the winter. But it could also be that the village will be buried.

Uncertainty wears on people

The people of Brienz have been living in fear of the mountains for years. Enormous forces act on the slope. At first, the residents experienced these forces as abstract numbers in reports that were presented to them more and more frequently and which began to sound more and more threatening. Then they saw these forces discharged at their homes. They tore open walls, ceilings and pipes. The people of Brienz could no longer close their doors because the wood was constantly warping.

All of this became commonplace in Brienz. And whenever there was new bad news, the Albula community invited people to an information event. This was also the case last Saturday, when the community declared a yellow warning level and said an evacuation was imminent. And on Tuesday evening, when the evacuation was decided. It is the 21st event in just a few years.

On Tuesday, representatives of the authorities provided information about the condition of the rock, possible explosions and the evacuation. On Saturday, the community even offered an insurance advisor. The community is proceeding routinely, it seems.

Nevertheless, there is great uncertainty and frustration among the people of Brienz. On Tuesday evening, a man told authorities: “If we have to leave a third time, we won’t leave anymore.” And: “I would stay now too. But I have to go.” The mayor of Albula, Daniel Albertin, replied: “Yes, you have to.”

The situation is emotional for many of those involved, and this is particularly evident at these events. Some are angry, others are sad, some question the experts’ information. He’s been living in standby mode for years, a man said last Saturday. He talked about how his things were packed and ready at home – so he could leave at any time. It’s a constant wait for the whole “cinnabar” thing to start. Politicians have to ask themselves what this is doing psychologically to the population, he said. “How much longer can we and do we want to expect this?”

Others worry about their financial existence. In the event of a total loss, the residents of Brienz will receive compensation. However, it is unclear how to deal with gradual damage. Doors and pipes need to be replaced and cracks patched. An older man said: “My house is my retirement provision, if it goes down the drain, my existence depends on it.”

The canton of Graubünden announced on Tuesday that it would provide emergency aid of 500,000 francs to help with the evacuation. This is to cover uncovered moving and rental costs for the residents of Brienz.

The 40 million bet

The village of Brienz lies on a slope in Graubünden’s Albula Valley. Politically, it belongs to the municipality of Albula together with Tiefencastel, Alvaschein, Alvaneu, Mon, Stierva and Surava. Almost 80 people live in Brienz.

Scientists say that this slope has been slipping since the last Ice Age. Hardly any other slope in the Alps moves so much. The people of Brienz have known for centuries that the ground beneath their houses is shifting. That’s why they once hung a bell in their leaning church tower. They wrote a prayer on the bell in which they asked their patron, Saint Calixtus, for protection from the “slippery rocks”.

The village was spared for a long time. But the slope has been slipping faster and faster for several years. In the 2010s it moved 20 centimeters a year, in 2020 it was one meter, and so far this year it has been more than two. On peak days, the slope slides 30 centimeters a day, experts say.

The community has been working on a solution for years. Now she is building a drainage tunnel into the mountain to drain the water. Because here lies the problem: Water acts like a lubricant between the rock layers and accelerates the sliding of the slope. It will take another three years until the 1,666 meter long drainage tunnel will be finished. The hole that is supposed to save Brienz costs 40 million francs.

Ninety percent is financed by the federal government and the canton of Graubünden. Ten percent is borne by the municipality, the Rhaetian Railway, the Swiss electricity network operator Swissgrid, and the cantonal civil engineering office. For many, the tunnel is perhaps their last hope for a normal life in their home village.

It represents a race. It’s about what is more likely to weaken: the momentum of the slope or the villagers’ will to resist.

The people of Brienz want to stay in the region

In 2019, residents of Brienz filled out a survey. Two thirds of the population there stated that they would like to stay in the municipality of Albula if they had to leave Brienz permanently.

The municipality and the canton of Graubünden commissioned a study. It should show how such a resettlement could succeed. The makers of the study examined ten locations within the municipality of Albula where people from Brienz could move. Three of them are considered suitable.

At the information event on Tuesday evening, the authorities announced that they would speak to the people of Brienz about these resettlement plans on November 20th. The canton of Graubünden also announced that it was pursuing the relocation plan “as a precautionary measure”. This means that only when Brienz is considered uninhabitable will the canton initiate the resettlement. Then the people of Brienz would have no choice: they would have to leave forever.