Rockslide threatens Swiss village again

VIENNA – A small Swiss village that attracted global attention last year when it was evacuated because the mountain face above it threatened to collapse onto it must be evacuated again, local officials said on Saturday.
The municipality of Albula in eastern Switzerland, which includes the village of Brienz, cited the risk of a rockslide like the one that narrowly missed the village in June last year after the last evacuation.
“The municipality of Albula/Alvra’s leadership team … is preparing a precautionary evacuation of Brienz/Brinzauls,” it said on the social media platform X, using names in German and Romansch, a language spoken locally.
A briefing for residents was being planned for Saturday evening, it added.
Authorities ordered the 84 residents of Brienz to abandon the village on May 12, 2023 over fears that it could be buried under falling rocks.
When a rockslide narrowly missed the community a month later, only some farmers had been allowed to return temporarily to tend to nearby fields.