The Swiss village of Briens/Brinzauls is preparing for the next evacuation. It is once again threatened by a rock fall from the mountain slope. The same thing happened last year – when all the residents had to leave the city.
The small Swiss village of Briens/Brinzauls attracted worldwide attention last year after it was evacuated. The reason for that was the mountain wall, which threatened to collapse and as a result, the village was going to be covered with ruins. On Saturday, November 9, local authorities announced that the town should be evacuated again.
The exact moment when residents must leave the village has not yet been announced. More details are expected to be revealed at a press conference on Saturday evening.
Another evacuation
The municipality of Albula/Alvra in eastern Switzerland, which includes the village of Brienz/Brinzauls, has warned of the risk of rock slides – like the one that narrowly missed the village last June after the last evacuation.
– The municipality is preparing a preventive evacuation of Briens/Brinzauls – this was announced on the X social network site using the names of the places in German and Romanian, which is the local language.
It added that up to 1.2 million cubic meters of rock could move toward the village.
According to Swiss media, measurements by the early warning service have shown that since the second half of September, the upper part of the rubble has been moving sometimes more than 30 centimeters a day. Officials say the situation may calm down, but rockfall cannot be ruled out.
On May 12, 2023, authorities ordered 84 villagers to evacuate due to the fear of being buried by falling rocks. When a landslide engulfed the city a month later, only some farmers were allowed to temporarily return to nearby fields.
Reuters, swissinfo.ch, 20min.ch
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/GIAN EHRENZELLER
