Swiss households to move as Brienz landslide threat rises
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Swiss households to move as Brienz landslide threat rises
Twenty-five households are poised to voluntarily leave the Swiss village of Brienz, which is threatened by a major landslide.
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A working group commissioned by the municipality will look into this preventive relocation, the first of its kind in Switzerland, and it raises a number of questions.
Who will bear the costs of such a move, if no damage has yet occurred? This is the kind of question that will have to be answered by the four-person working group set up by the municipality of Albula, where Brienz is located.
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One thing is certain: anyone wishing to leave Brienz will have to demolish their house. Only then will the person concerned receive compensation under the Forestry Act.
+ One in six Swiss homes exposed to natural hazards
In the meantime, the cantonal authorities will be granting bridging loans to the 25 families, childless couples and single people planning to leave their village of 80 inhabitants.
Just last weekend, almost 10,000m3 of rock tumbled downstream from Brienz. The village has been evacuated since last November.
Translated from French by DeepL/mga
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