Smaller rockfalls above Brienz GR but no rockfall yet
Keystone-SDA
The Swiss mountain village of Brienz/Brinzauls experienced several small rockfalls over the weekend but no major landslide to threaten the village.
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According to the authorities, the rockfalls on Sunday lunchtime were not yet an indication of an imminent major rockfall.
+ Why do Swiss mountains collapse? It’s complicated
“Experts expect an accumulation of rockfalls before a major collapse,” said Christian Gartmann, Brienz media officer and member of the municipal management team, in response to reports from Swiss public braodcaster SRF.
The collapses since Saturday are therefore no surprise, explained Gartmann when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency.
Experts continue to expect a rockfall in the next few days. For the first time, they warned of an imminent event on Tuesday.
A rockslide, i.e. a rockfall with a volume of less than one million cubic metres, is expected, explained the media spokesperson. The possible volume could be up to 300,000 cubic metres. This corresponds to the volume of around 300 detached houses.
According to the geologists, if the rockslide falls onto the debris pile below, it could set large masses of rock in motion. Up to one million cubic metres of debris could then fall towards the village. If it were to reach the village, there would probably be damage, explained Gartmann.
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Geologists warn of new rockfall above Swiss village
Translated from German by DeepL/mga
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