Brienz, Switzerland —(Map)
On June 16, a huge chunk of rock and dirt fell from a mountain above the Swiss village of Brienz. Somehow, the rockslide missed the village by a “hair”. The road leading to the village was damaged, but the village itself appears to have been unhurt.
Brienz is a small village in the mountains of Switzerland. About 100 people live there. For hundreds of years, the mountain above the village has appeared as if it might fall on the village at any moment.
It didn’t just look that way. The mountain was actually moving. Since the 1920s, the mountain has been shifting a little over an inch (a few centimeters) a year. But the movement increased about 20 years ago. Since then, the mountain’s rocks have been moving about a yard (a meter) every year.
(Source: Capricorn4049 [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)
In May, the government told the people of Brienz that they needed to leave the village. They warned that a huge amount of rock and dirt was expected to slide off the mountain, and it could happen in as little as a week. The people of Brienz packed up and left, and the government closed the roads and train line leading to the village.
Last Thursday night, the rock and dirt came crashing down the mountain. It completely covered the road and left a pile of rubble as high as a four-story building. But somehow, it missed the village by a “hair”. Christian Gartmann, who speaks for the area, said, “The most beautiful part is…it came down without damaging the village.”
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Last Thursday night, the rock and dirt came crashing down the mountain. It completely covered the road and left a pile of rubble as high as a four-story building. But somehow, it missed the village (above). The only building that appeared to be damaged was a small shed.
The building closest to the mountain is the village school. The rubble stopped just a few yards (meters) from the school. The New York Times reports that the only building that appeared to be damaged was a small shed.
The people who live in Brienz are very relieved that the village appears to have been saved. “It could have been so much worse,” said one of the villagers.
But they are still worried about their homes. Experts say it’s possible that some buildings were damaged by flying rocks. The villagers are especially worried about their church, St. Calixtus, which is over 500 years old.
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he villagers are especially worried about their church, St. Calixtus (the tall building), which is over 500 years old. Though the village appears to have been saved, some experts expect more of the mountain to fall.
Though the village appears to have been saved, the government wants to check the situation completely before the villagers return. Some experts expect more of the mountain to fall. Last Friday, a helicopter flew over the village to check the area.
The system that’s used to keep an eye on the mountain’s movements was damaged in the rockslide. Experts have been working to rebuild this system. The government won’t have enough information to decide when the villagers can go back to Brienz until the system is repaired.
Some other recent landslides in Europe were triggered by climate change. But scientists say that the rockslide that threatened Brienz was caused by natural erosion, not climate change.
Did You Know…?
The villagers weren’t the only ones affected by the rockslide. Before the rocks fell, the Tour de Suisse bike race had to change its planned path to avoid the dangerous area.
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