In a monthly information bulletin, the Graubünden municipality of Albula/Alvra informs the affected population about the current state of knowledge and work on the “Brienz slip” that threatens the Brienz/Brinzauls faction. In order to explain the activities of the management organization, we deepen the topic with a background interview in each issue. In the interview, Bruno Casutt, interim chief of staff of the municipality of Albula/Alvra, talks about the tasks of a community management staff.
What does a community leadership staff do?
He supports the municipal president and the municipal council in preparing for and managing disasters and emergencies.
Who is on this leadership team?
Put simply, the municipality brings to the table all the experts it needs to deal with a situation. These include members of the board, employees of the municipal administration, cantonal police, fire department, technical services of the municipality, civil protection company and the local natural hazard consultant. Depending on the situation, there are also cantonal or private specialists for natural hazards, public transport, power supply or communication. The head of the municipal management staff is the municipal president.
This is a mix of militia forces and professionals from the canton. Why not just professionals?
Locals are particularly important on the staff. They know the local conditions, the population and the organizations that can be used. In addition, there are external experts with expertise and experience that do not exist locally. It's the mix that counts.
How often do you meet?
At the moment, every two weeks for half a day. Depending on how much work is pending or how the situation develops, there are more or less reports.
How do you have to imagine such a report?
Reports are systematically held working sessions in which the current situation, problems and their solutions are discussed. Staff members receive assignments to solve a problem, for example. In the next report, they present their proposed solutions, which are then discussed. To ensure that nothing is forgotten, reports are always carried out in a specific order and logged precisely. In this way, everyone on the staff remains on the same level of knowledge and everyone can get involved.
What has the JRC done so far specifically for Brienz/Brinzauls?
The community leadership team has developed plans for immediate or rapid evacuation, within 15 hours, of Brienz/Brinzauls and parts of Vazerol, Surava and Tiefencastel. We are currently working on planning to vacate the houses if this would ever be necessary. Staff training is also important, as staff work is carried out according to special rules.
“Use existing resources in the right place”
The municipality has therefore retained leadership in this large and special location. Can a municipality even cope with such a situation?
Each municipality can apply for support from the canton. In principle, however, the municipality is responsible for dealing with a particular situation. In an exceptional situation or when several municipalities or even the entire canton are affected, the cantonal management team has the role of coordinating and supporting the municipal management staff.
How do cantonal authorities specifically support the municipality? Can you give examples?
They help wherever the municipality does not have the necessary expertise within its own ranks. Cantonal agencies from all five departments are involved in Brienz Rutsch. This ranges from planning the evacuation by the Office of Military and Civil Protection to the accommodation of evacuated farm animals by the Office of Agriculture and Geoinformation in the Plantahof to long-term settlement plans by the Office for Spatial Development or the clarification of a rehabilitation of the entire slide by the Department of Forest and Natural Hazards.
Is the community leadership a purely advisory body or does it decide instead of the municipal executive?
The community leadership team primarily develops solutions to problems. If there is no major time pressure, the municipal council decides on the procedure. If a situation becomes acute and time pressure is high, the head of the municipality, as head of staff, must decide together with a representative from the executive branch.
“Bondo's experience helps us at work today.”
What would you do for those affected in the event of a rock slide or evacuation due to the slipping village?
The first priority is to save people and animals, and then it is important to protect and repair the environment and property. The community management team keeps an overview and sets priorities so that the available funds are concentrated and used in the right place at the right time. Those affected are always at the center of everything we do.
She herself and some of the staff members were already deployed at Bondo in 2017 after the rock slide. Can you also apply experiences from Bergell here?
Although the management tasks and the staff work process are always the same, the practical experience from debris flows at Bondo is important for everyone involved. It is incorporated into various pension plans, for example. It also gives us the confidence that, in an acute event, many things become possible that you could never imagine in everyday life.
Can the situation even be compared with Bondo?
In Bondo, the community management staff was mainly used to deal with the landslide and debris flows. We are planning precautionary measures for Brienz slip. However, many topics are related: Bondo, for example, was evacuated for seven weeks. The experience gained from this helps us when planning today. In addition, many participants already know each other from practical cooperation and speak a common language.
“I hope that we never have to implement all the plans.”
How do you experience the inhabitants of the affected villages?
My impression is that the population of the groups concerned is behaving very calmly and prudently. This is very important for the work in the various committees. Our pension plans will only work if the affected population pulls on the same line with the community, tells us their needs so that we can address them in a targeted manner. The affected population and their well-being are at the center of all our activities.
What would you like for your work this year?
The fact that people in the Brienz/Brinzauls, Vazerol, Surava and Tiefencastel factions can continue to live normally and that we never have to implement all our pension plans would be the best thing for me.
Christian Gartmann is the communication and media representative for the municipality of Albula/Alvra for the Brienz slide. Among other things, he prepares monthly information bulletins for the affected population.