Twenty-five households plan to voluntarily leave Brienz (GR), threatened by a major and evacuated landslide last November. A working group mandated by the town will look at this preventive relocation, a first of this magnitude in Switzerland which asks several questions.
ATS
Next to the small cemetery, the village church sits on the albula valley since 1519. If Brienz is finally abandoned because of the imminent landslide of almost 1.2 million cubic meters of rock, the building could one day be the only building in the still standing village.
“The church is a classified building. The law on regional planning is clear: its directives must be respected in the interest of preserving heritage, “said Roland Tremp, president of the resettlement working group during an interview with Keystone-ATS. But the 80 inhabitants of Brienz, evacuated since November, currently have other priorities.
Many of them have not abandoned the hope of returning home, according to Mr. Tremp. Since last November, they cannot go there until fixed hours and during the day.
Those who move must demolish
Under these conditions and in the face of the uncertainty of the future, more and more inhabitants are now planning to move definitively. The working group has already had interviews with 25 households. The problem is that a relocation is not so simple if no damage has yet been caused by the natural disaster.
There has never been a comparable case in Switzerland. In the meantime, the municipality can certainly guarantee funds for preventive purposes, under the law on forests. But to claim, those who want to move must first demolish their house in Brienz. “A drastic measure,” admits Mr. Tremp, but it is the law, he specifies.
This is indeed the main problem that arises to those who want to leave Brienz: how to cover the costs of building a new house or moving in an apartment if you are only compensated after the demolition of the Brienz house?
The gray authorities have found a compromise, says Roland Tremp. They pay a relay loan. Thus, the households concerned can project themselves into the future.
Like this family, already busy building a new accommodation in Schiers (GR). It should be the first cleaning to move, in the spring of 2026, explained Christian Wilhelm, member of the working group, in Keystone-ATS.
Different for farms
The rules applicable to the two Brienz farms are different, in particular because they are located in agricultural and non -constructible areas, explains Mr. Tremp. Several state services will support their operators in their efforts. One plans to buy an existing building, the other to build.
There is still an option to cultivate the land on site, thanks to a drainage tunnel. 2.3 km long and currently under construction, it should make it possible to evacuate the water. The authorities hope that this infrastructure, at a cost of 40 million francs, will considerably reduce the landslides.
Experiences to share
The persons concerned have until September 30 to file a preventive rehousing request. “If there are only five people left at the end, it is completely different than if there are 20 or 30,” said Mr. Tremp. It is not only the appearance, but the whole infrastructure of the village which will be modified, in particular the water pipes, the sewers, as well as the roads or the power lines.
The municipality supports these significant investment costs despite a very small number of inhabitants. The working group has not yet found a solution to this problem. But one thing is clear, according to Mr. Tremp: “The experience we acquire here can help other municipalities that are in situations similar to the future”.
