Overview
- The main crack above Chippis measures roughly 250 meters in length and 80 centimeters to 1 meter in width, growing about 2 to 4 millimeters per day.
- Geologists estimate up to about 500,000 cubic meters of unstable material could slide, with failure considered more likely to occur in stages than in a single collapse.
- A slide could block the Navizence, form a temporary lake, and raise flood risk for the roughly 1,500 to 1,600 people in Chippis, especially during snowmelt.
- Continuous monitoring is in place with length-measuring devices, a laser scanner, cameras, and weekly drone flights, and large trees on the slope have been removed as a precaution.
- Officials are preparing evacuation plans, advising the public to avoid the area, reserving civil protection spaces, and planning an emergency power line for early summer.