The Swiss village of Brienz has been left a ghost town following the evacuation of its inhabitants

The inhabitants of the Swiss village of Brienz have been forced to leave their town, following the threat of rock fall on their homes.

Transcript

00:00The deadline for evacuating the village of Brienz in eastern Switzerland ends at 1 p.m.

00:06on Sunday.

00:07After that, phase red begins and access to the village is prohibited.

00:12This situation is due to the devastating landslides in the area and it could last until spring.

00:17The 80 or so inhabitants of the village have to leave their homes for the second time in

00:2218 months.

00:23Some 1.2 million cubic meters of rubble above the village is moving down the valley and

00:28threatens to destroy the whole settlement.

00:31Not only people, but animals, art pieces, historical items and local archives are also

00:37being relocated.

00:38The 500-year-old late Gothic altar has also been removed from the Church of St. Callistus

00:43for a second time.

00:45In order to enforce the ban on entering the village and ensure safety, the area is now

00:49being monitored electronically.

00:52Specialists use the helicopter to install new prism mirrors for the laser tachymeter

00:57as an early warning system above Brienz.

01:00These mirrors measure how the mountain is moving and according to the initial measurements,

01:04one section is sliding at a rate of 20 cm per day.