The Swiss village of Brienz/Brinzauls, which sits beneath an extremely unstable mountain, was placed on red alert and its 84 residents were evacuated by 6pm on Friday.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/mga
Italiano
it
Allarme rosso per la frana che minaccia un villaggio svizzero
The local authorities in canton Graubünden, in southeast Switzerland, raised the alert level from orange to red on Friday evening. This means that no-one will be allowed to enter the village with the evacuation complete.
The Federal Office for Civil Aviation has also issued a no-fly zone over the village, extending to an altitude of 3,050 metres with a 3.5 kilometre radius.
Towering over Brienz/Brinzauls, a rock volume of two million cubic metres is slipping so fast that it is expected to break loose imminently.
The authorities said they would trigger the red alert once they thought the break-off of the rock mass would happen within the next two weeks.
The 84 residents of the village have all been rehoused temporarily a safe distance from the mountain.
In the worst-case scenario, several large rocks could tumble down the mountain reaching speeds of up to 200 km/per hour, Simon Löw, a geology professor at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich, told Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
This scenario has the potential to destroy the village, Löw said.
Popular Stories
More
Life & Aging
Zurich: how the world capital of housing shortages is tackling the problem
Living longer: What do you think about the longevity trend?
The longevity market is booming thanks in part to advances in the science of ageing. What do you think of the idea of significantly extending human lifespan?
Basel prepares 700 volunteers for the Eurovision Song Contest
This content was published on
Around 320 people took part in one of the two official information events for the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in Basel on Friday.
More Swiss soldiers involved in accidents during training in Austria
This content was published on
The Swiss army has reported various accidents involving Swiss soldiers during the exercise “TRIAS 25” in Austria. Some have led to hospitalisations.
Swiss court rules vegan meat substitutes can’t use animal names
This content was published on
Vegan meat substitutes may not bear animal names such as “planted.chicken” according to a ruling by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court.
Swiss cantons spared duty to create new traveller transit sites
This content was published on
Swiss cantons will no longer be formally obliged by the government to create new transit sites for the travelling community.
Swiss politicians bemoan limited access to EU treaty details
This content was published on
Protests that only a few Swiss parliamentarians will be able to read the contents of a new agreement negotiated with the EU.
This content was published on
For the first time, most Swiss residents favour withdrawing their pension pot as a lump-sum over regular annuity payments.
Climate threats: living in the shadow of a crumbling mountain
This content was published on
At the popular Alpine resort of Kandersteg, villagers live with the threat of the nearby Spitzer Stein mountain tumbling down.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.