Swiss village evacuated over threat of rockslide
GENEVA (AP) — Swiss authorities cleared a village in the country's east over a potential rockslide, three weeks after a mudslide submerged a vacated village in the southwest.
Residents of Brienz/Brinzauls, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Davos, were being barred from entering the village because a rock mass on a plateau overhead has 'accelerated so rapidly that it threatens to collapse,' a statement from local officials said Monday.
Farm work in the area was also being halted, and livestock owners moved their animals out of nearby pastures due to early warning signs on Sunday.
Authorities said the region is closely monitored by early-warning systems in the town, which is no stranger to such evacuations: Villagers had been ordered out of Brienz/Brinzauls in November and in June two years ago — before a huge mass of rock tumbled down the mountain, narrowly missing the village.
The mountain and the rocks on it have been moving since the last Ice Age. While glacier melt has affected the precariousness of the rocks over millennia, local authorities say melting glaciers due to 'man-made' climate change in recent decades hasn't been a factor.
The centuries-old village straddles German- and Romansch-speaking parts of the eastern Graubünden region and sits at an altitude of about 1,150 meters (about 3,800 feet). Today, it has under 100 residents.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Lake fire burns 477 acres in San Bernardino County, prompting evacuations and road closures
More than 100 people were temporarily stranded off a highway after fleeing 100-foot flames from a brush fire that broke out late Saturday afternoon near a reservoir in San Bernardino County, prompting road closures and evacuations. Dubbed the Lake fire, the blaze broke out shortly before 4 p.m. at the Silverwood Lake State Recreation Area, near Highway 173 and Cedar Springs Dam Trail. By 7 p.m. the fire had increased from 60 acres to 477 acres, according to Cal Fire officials. More than 100 people were at the reservoir when the fire broke out and were forced to flee the flames. Boaters and jet skiers helped evacuate people out of the beach to another area where they were taken to a roadside turnout on Highway 173, just north of the lake. Many people were wearing beach attire and flip flops. Read more: Southern California on alert for severe wildfires after dry winter Shaun Kirkman and his girlfriend, Amber King, were among those forced to flee. 'I was west of the beach, fishing in vegetation," Kirkman said. "The fire sounded like Velcro so I kept fishing, then it got louder. I saw 100-foot flames. Me and my girlfriend ran out of there.' Gloria Orejel, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, said about 75 to 100 people were camping in the area and were forced to evacuate with whatever they had on. She said park rangers helped transport people to another spot on the highway. As of 8 p.m. the group had been taken back to their vehicles. Evacuation orders have been issued, authorities said. North of Highway 138 is under an evacuation warning, while south of the highway, between Interstate 15 and Highway 173, is under a mandatory evacuation. Cal Fire said it's in unified command with local authorities including San Bernardino County Fire Department and the U.S. Forest Service. Fire crews have been battling the blaze both on the ground and in the air. The cause remains under investigation. On Friday, Southern California fire chiefs warned that a season of devastating wildfires was likely amid low rainfall and dry conditions. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CBS News
7 hours ago
- CBS News
Lake Fire burning in San Bernardino County with "dangerous rate of spread," firefighters say
A large brush fire broke out near Silverwood Lake in San Bernardino County on Saturday and firefighters say it is burning at a "dangerous rate." It was first reported at around 4 p.m. near the popular recreation area located in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, according to Cal Fire/San Bernardino County Fire Department crews. Firefighters advised people to avoid using both Highway 173 and Highway 138, as fire was burning on both sides of the latter. As of 4:30 p.m, crews said that the fire had burned as much as 15 acres and had a dangerous rate of spread. Firefighters requested evacuations for the area due to the blaze, which they said had a "potential for several hundred acres." This is a developing story. Check back for details.
CBS News
9 hours ago
- CBS News
West Virginia mudslide strands thousands on highway for more than 8 hours
Thousands of motorists were stranded for more than eight hours along a section of rural interstate highway in southern West Virginia early Friday after a mudslide caused by heavy rains blocked a storm drain the previous night, flooding and completely shutting down the northbound lanes. Traffic backed up for 12 miles along the West Virginia Turnpike about 20 miles south of Charleston, the state capital. Traffic was not rerouted, and many motorists along the mountainous route had no choice but to remain in their vehicles overnight. In this image provided by Nicky Walters, traffic is shown at a standstill Friday, June 27, 2025, along the West Virginia Turnpike south of Sharon, West Virginia. Nicky Walters via AP One lane eventually opened in the early morning of Friday but traffic remained a standstill afterwards for hours, according to a statement provided to CBS News by West Virginia Department of Transportation spokesperson Jennifer Dooley. "Traffic should have been detoured to allow drivers an alternate route around the mudslide," Executive Director of the Parkways Authority Chuck Smith said in the statement. "The Parkways Authority takes full responsibility for the failure to reroute traffic, and would like to assure the public that this will never happen again. No injuries were reported, Smith said, adding that the Parkways Authority is "examining and revising its policies on Turnpike closures and detours as a result of this incident." Motorists posted on social media that they had no information on why the standstill occurred, that they had nothing to drink in their vehicles or that their children needed to use the bathroom. Nicky Walters said in a telephone interview that she felt fortunate while she was stuck because she is healthy, did not not need medicine and had nobody she was responsible for caring for. "But I felt desperate because I knew that other people needed help," said Walters, who became stranded while returning to Charleston from a pro wrestling event in Mount Hope. "People needed, at minimum, water bottles passed out and some snacks, much less information. They needed any lifeline to the outside world, and there was none." By the time Brittany Lemon and her family finally got home to Parkersburg, 24 hours had passed since they began returning from their vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In a video posted to Facebook, Lemon said she had no water and her children needed to use the bathroom. They were able to get an hour's sleep while stuck on the highway. "Definitely next year when I go back, I'll be prepared for an emergency in the vehicle," she said. Mitch Carmichael, a former cabinet secretary of the Department of Economic Development, said on Facebook that he was on the turnpike "for hours with no relevant or timely info as to when issue will be cleared." He called it "incredibly unprofessional" for the public to be left in the dark and said it gives West Virginia "a terrible image." Gov. Patrick Morrisey said in a statement that the shutdown "was completely unacceptable. I have directed the Parkways Authority to immediately conduct an investigation and revise its procedures as necessary as a result of this incident." The turnpike shutdown came as much of the Eastern U.S. suffered through days of dangerous heat this week before the latest storms battered West Virginia. The state's Emergency Management Division on Thursday posted a photo of a measuring tape in floodwaters with the caption, "From 'dry as a bone to 5 inches' in 45 minutes this evening in the Elm Grove area." On June 14, nine people, including a 3-year-old, died when as much as 4 inches of rain fell in parts of Wheeling and Ohio County within 40 minutes. In February, West Virginia was hit with heavy rains and dangerous flooding that left at least three people dead and caused millions of dollars in damage.
