Swiss authorities have ordered the residents of the small alpine village of Brienz to evacuate their homes by Friday evening as two million cubic meters of rock threatens to collapse and devastate the community in the near future.
The centuries-old village is located in the Graubunden region, southwest of Davos, at an altitude of approximately 1,150 meters above sea level.
The number of residents today amounts to just under 100 people.
“Two million cubic meters of stone”
The mountain and its rock masses have been moving continuously since the last ice age. But according to measurements, there has been a “significant acceleration” in recent days and “up to two million cubic meters of rock will collapse or slide down in the next seven to 24 days,” authorities said.
Experts estimate that the chance of a smaller rock fall that does not hit the buildings in the area amounts to 60 percent.
The risk that there will instead be an extensive rockfall that threatens lives and homes is estimated at ten percent.