The village about to be CRUSHED: Entire Swiss settlement evacuated due to sliding rock

Swiss authorities have ordered residents to leave a small mountain village in the eastern canton of Graubunden, fearing it would soon be buried under a collapsing mountainside.

A thick layer of fog covered the mountaintop overlooking the village of Brienz on Thursday, where vegetation has been replaced by a slope of mud and rocks.

Farm workers could be seen loading cows onto a truck and driving it out of the near-deserted village. Some areas were cordoned off with yellow warning signs in five languages ​​that read: ‘Attention stone chips.’

Swiss authorities have ordered residents to leave a small mountain village in the eastern canton of Graubunden, fearing it could soon be buried beneath a collapsing mountainside.

Residents of the Brienz, Graubunden, were ordered by the Swiss authorities to leave the small mountain village. The group of houses is pictured before the zone of landslides, May 11, 2023

Local authorities say Brienz is in danger because 2 million cubic yards (2.6 million cubic meters) of rock could soon break off the mountain, damaging or crushing its scenic homes.

The ancient village straddles German- and Romansh-speaking parts of the eastern Graubunden region, southwest of Davos at an elevation of about 1,158 meters (3,800 feet). It has less than 100 inhabitants.

The mountain and the rocks on it have been moving since the last ice age, local officials say. But measurements indicated “sharp acceleration over a wide area” in recent days, and “up to two million cubic meters of rock material will collapse or shift in the next seven to 24 days,” officials said.

“The rock moves at a rate of up to 36 meters (39 yards) per year,” said Christian Gartmann, a member of the crisis management council of Albula, a municipality that includes Brienz. “We expect it to fall towards the village within days or weeks.”

The residents of Brienz have been given until Friday evening to evacuate. The mayor of the village, Daniel Albertin, is convinced that all residents will have left by then.

“This is a huge task for the entire community,” he said.

A farmer, who took care of the cows that were evacuated, agreed.

Local authorities say Brienz is in danger because 2 million cubic meters of rock could soon break off the mountain

A general view of the rock fall zone and the village of Brienz, one day before the deadline for the evacuation of residents in the canton of Graubunden, Switzerland, May 11, 2023

Rocks break off the mountain, which could aggravate, damage or outright crush scenic houses in the village of Brienz, Switzerland

A sign near the stone-fall zone in the village of Brienz, one day before the deadline for the evacuation of residents in the canton of Graubünden

A general view shows the rock slide zone that poses a serious danger to the small village of Brienz

The extent of the damage that could fall on Brienz remains a mystery

“The rock could come down in parts, which would be the most beneficial solution,” Gartmann said. ‘It can also suddenly fall, which is disastrous for the village’

“It’s just a big effort for us now,” Hanneke Bonifaci said as she opened their enclosure. “It’s very short, but it’s doable.” Climate change puts Switzerland at greater risk of natural disasters, including an increase in erosion due to higher temperatures, Swiss authorities say.

The extent of the damage that could fall on Brienz remains a mystery.

“The rock could come down in parts, which would be the most beneficial solution,” Gartmann said. ‘It can also suddenly fall, which is disastrous for the village.’

Residents of Brienz-Brinzauls attend an information meeting about the upcoming evacuation of their village, in Tiefencastel, Switzerland, Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Concerned residents attend an information meeting about Brienz’s impending evacuation. The municipality has closed the access road to the village; Residents had to leave their homes on Friday evening because of an imminent landslide

The village church in the village of Brienz is in danger of the landslide zone, Switzerland, May 11, 2023