Evacuation threatens: Swiss mountain village threatened by masses of rubble

Last year, the small mountain village of Brienz in Switzerland had to be temporarily evacuated due to a landslide. Now huge masses of rubble are moving again on the slope above the village.

The Swiss mountain village of Brienz is once again threatened by a huge landslide and is therefore preparing for an evacuation. It cannot be ruled out that up to 1.2 million cubic meters of rock debris will move down the valley and reach the settlement, said the administration of the town in the eastern canton of Graubünden. The approximately 90 residents of Brienz have been informed that they may have to leave their homes in the coming days and, in the worst case, will not be able to return for several months. A decision and timing for such a move have not yet been determined.

Debris flow warning

The rubble is currently moving at around 25 centimeters per day. Precipitation or rock falls in the area of ​​the rubble heap could increase the speed to 80 kilometers per hour or more, geologist Stefan Schneider reported to residents at an information event. Such a flow of debris is not likely at the moment, but if it occurs suddenly, timely warnings would no longer be possible.

The village had already been evacuated as a precaution in May 2023 in anticipation of a landslide. In June 2023, a huge stream of rubble actually thundered down the mountain and missed the old schoolhouse by just a few meters. Rubble and rubble buried meadows and a road, some of which were meters high. Brienz is located near Davos at an altitude of around 1,150 meters.