The Graubünden village of Brienz may no longer be entered from Sunday
Published: Sunday, Nov 17th 2024, 05:50
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In Brienz GR, the deadline for evacuating the entire village ends at 1 pm on Sunday. 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 80 or so inhabitants of Brienz have to leave their homes for the second time in a year and a half. 1.2 million cubic meters of rubble 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, supported those affected in their search for temporary accommodation. A return to Brienz is not expected to be possible until spring 2025.
The access ban also applies to the fire department
Not only people but also animals are relocated: Some of the livestock were brought to the Plantahof farm in Lanquart, while other animals were entrusted to various farms.
The 500-year-old late Gothic altar was also 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, the fire brigade 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 rockfall 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 and buried a road and meadows meters deep under rubble. The masses of rock came to a halt just a few meters from the village.
©Keystone/SDA
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