Swiss village clear-up begins after more landslides
Work is underway to clear up the latest landslide damage at the village of Schwanden in central Switzerland.
Since December 22, another 15,000 cubic metres of earth have reached Schwanden in the canton of Glarus. “Despite the holidays, temporary storage areas were created and contractors with suitable equipment were organised,” the municipality of Glarus Süd, to which Schwanden belongs, announced on Tuesday.
For safety reasons, the affected areas must not be entered during mechanical clearance work. The municipality, together with the cantonal military and civil protection department, is also examining the use of civil protection for the evacuation of buildings affected by the latest debris flows.
“For us, the evacuation is an important process that was also demanded by the population due to multiple pressure,” Hansruedi Forrer, mayor of Glarus Süd, told Radio SRF. The relevant clarifications were also needed. Forrer expects the clearance work to take “months”.
The red evacuation zone still cannot be cleared. As the community further wrote, CHF762,000 in donations have been received so far to deal with the event. CHF370,000 date back to a donation day on December 20. The community describes this as a “complete success”.
At the end of August, two landslides in Schwanden completely destroyed half a dozen buildings. More were damaged. Around 100 people had to be evacuated at the time, and 40 of those affected will probably never be able to return to their homes.
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Most evacuees of Glarus landslide village get all-clear to go home
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