Swiss village of Brienz closed due to landslide risk

Brienz GR closed due to landslide risk Keystone-SDA

The Graubünden village of Brienz in eastern Switzerland was closed again on Monday due to the risk of landslides. Rock masses on the mountain above the village recently accelerated to such an extent that they are threatening to collapse. The inhabitants have been evacuated since last November.

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Most recently, it was possible for them to enter the village during the day and, for example, cultivate the agricultural land. However, this also had to be prohibited on Monday, the responsible municipality of Albula wrote in a press release. The local farmers had already had to remove the animals from the pastures on Sunday.

The masses at risk of falling are estimated to be half a million cubic metres of rock, said Christian Gartmann, communications officer for the municipality of Albula, when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency on Monday. That is about the same amount as 500 detached houses.

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Another 1.2 million cubic metres at risk of falling

A further 1.2 million cubic metres of rock are also in motion. These react very strongly to precipitation, but also to falling boulders. The two danger zones, the eastern plateau and the scree slope, are therefore linked, Gartmann said. If the plateau loosens, the debris pile below will presumably also start to move.

The extent of such a collapse cannot yet be estimated. Geologists are currently trying to find out how far the material could penetrate into the village.

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However, the roads along the Albula and in the direction of Lenzerheide are not currently at any greater risk. The same applies to the railway line. They remain open.

Several systems are monitoring the slope, according to the municipality’s press release. As soon as the danger from the eastern plateau can be better assessed, information will be provided again.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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