Rockfall The Graubünden village of Brienz may no longer be entered from Sunday
From 1 p.m. on Sunday, the village of Brienz GR will be off-limits. Civil defense forces cordoned off the danger zone around the village. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
A rock avalanche threatens the Grisons mountain village of Brienz. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
From 1 p.m. on Sunday, the village of Brienz GR will be off-limits. Civil defense forces cordoned off the danger zone around the village. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
A rock avalanche threatens the Grisons mountain village of Brienz. (archive picture)
Image: Keystone
In Brienz GR, the deadline for the evacuation of the entire village ends on Sunday at 1 pm. After that, phase red begins. This means that access to the village threatened by a rock avalanche is prohibited. This situation could last until spring.
The approximately 80 inhabitants of Brienz have to leave their homes for the second time in a year and a half. 1.2 million cubic meters of debris above the village are moving down the valley and threaten to destroy the mountain village.
The municipality of Albula, to which the village of Brienz belongs, is helping those affected to find temporary accommodation. A return to Brienz will probably not be possible until spring 2025.
The access ban also applies to the fire department
Not only people, but also animals are being relocated: Some of the livestock has been moved to the Plantahof farm in Lanquart, while other animals will be entrusted to various farms.
The 500-year-old late Gothic altar has also been removed from the church of St. Calixtus for a second time. The Brienz local archives were also removed.
The ban on entering the danger zone around Brienz also applies to the fire department. If there is a fire in Brienz, they will only be deployed if the early warning systems and incident command determine that an operation is justifiable.
"If we cannot rule out a danger to our people from the mountain, we do not move into the danger zone," explained a fire department inspector in a bulletin from the municipality of Albula. This decision was based on the priorities for fire department operations in Switzerland: The first priority is people, then animals, the environment and only in fourth place material assets.
First rockslide came to a standstill in front of the village
The residents of Brienz had to leave their homes back in May 2023. At that time, a rockslide threatened to sweep away the entire village.
On the night of 16 June 2023, huge volumes of rock finally shot down the slope, burying a road and meadows meters deep under rubble. The masses of rock came to a halt just a few meters from the village.
SDA
