Swiss Village Evacuated Over Rockslide Threat

The Swiss Alpine community of Brienz turned into a ghost village as authorities started the last day of evacuations of residents threatened by the increasing risk of rockslides from a nearby mountain.

Brienz’s fewer than 100 villagers were given just 48 hours to pack what they could and abandon their homes.

Even the dairy cows were loaded up for departure after geologists warned a rockfall was imminent.

Two million cubic metres of rock is coming loose from the mountain above, and a rockslide could obliterate the village.

The village has been judged a geological risk for some time and is built on land that is subsiding down towards the valley, causing the church spire to lean and large cracks to appear in buildings.