Swiss parliament approves CHF5 million for village buried by landslide
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Swiss parliament approves CHF5 million for village buried by landslide
The Valais mountain village of Blatten, which was largely buried by a landslide, is to receive emergency aid totalling CHF5 million ($6.1 million) from the federal government. After the Senate, the House of Representatives also approved the corresponding legal basis without opposition on Thursday.
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The federal government approved the solidarity contribution last Friday. Parliament’s approval was required to release the funds. Within six days, both chambers of parliament approved the urgent federal act and the associated financing decision – in each case without a dissenting vote.
The federal government can now pay the financial aid to the village of Blatten. The village has one year to submit a report on the utilisation of the funds. The municipality must repay any unused funds to the federal government.
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The CHF5 million will be used for emergency measures that are not covered by insurance or subsidies. However, it should also be possible to help people from the village in difficult situations. The Confederation is providing CHF15,000 per resident of Blatten.
On May 28, a landslide largely destroyed the village of Blatten in the Lötschental valley in Valais. One person is still missing. The rest of the 300 or so residents were evacuated in time.
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Translated from German by DeepL/jdp
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