Every canton has a map of flooding hazard. Look for “Gefahrenkarte Hochwasser” (DE) or “carte risque inondations” (FR).
For landslides, look for Rutschungen (landslide) or even better Naturgefahr (natural hazards).
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Thanks! I imagine there may be some correlation with regards to property prices.
You need to find your Kanton‘s GIS.
ZH GIS:
There is probably the same data to be found in the federal GIS
Need Bananas for scale.
I never understood the 20min calculation of dump trucks because it contained an emotional load maybe heavier than the avalanche debris: the belief that the debris can be relocated. Some days later, emotions are down and pragmatism is back.
Christian Rieder, President of the Lötschen Valley Council, has already stated in an interview with SRF that it would be unrealistic to remove the debris cone above Blatten – simply because of the question of where to put the material. “It’s more likely that Blatten will be rebuilt somewhere else. For example, in Weissenried, which already belongs to the municipality.”
Back to financial concerns, question to homeowners around here. Insurance is named Gebäudeversicherung (Building insurance). The assumption behind this insurance is that properties get damaged, and insurance money helps to rebuild. But, what if it’s impossible to come back and repair/rebuild?
For example, I buy a house for 1 million. That money covers the land plot and the actual building. But, building insurance only covers the building, so what’s the insured amount and how is it calculated?
Particularly devastating for Blatten: Even if the affected homeowners have building insurance, many are likely to have suffered financial losses.
Urs Ramseier, insurance expert and CEO of Twelve Securis, explains why. A look at the debris cone shows that the land on which the buildings would have stood is practically worthless after the rockslide, unless the village can be rebuilt on the same site. “Consequently, the property owners’ land value is also gone, and this is not insured,” he says. “Overnight, the asset value has plummeted to zero.”
A quick search yielded three land plots for construction for sale in Lötschen valley. Prices between 300 and 400 CHF/m2. So, the uninsured loses of derelict land can mount quickly.
I guess telling “tut mir leid, selber schuld…they should have bought insurance” becomes morally indefensible because no one has an insurance for land becoming unusable.
Both quotes from this NZZ article:
I think in such exceptional cases, it makes sense for the country as a whole to make good the loss on land. So each would get say 150k for a 400m2 plot. Plus what they get from insurance for building and contents. Then they can use the funds to live elsewhere.
From the money side, not a bad solution at all. 1 hectare of village land is only 4 million CHF. Probably cheaper than rebuilding a single km of road to be rebuilt.
Should someone actually want to read this article:
that does not apply here.
It would should someone get a really cheap plot in or next to Blatten now and build on it. When it happens again - they had to see it coming or at least the possibility.
Turns out 64% of the housing in Blatten were “Zweitwohnungen”, second homes/holiday homes.
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Another issue: pollution.
The 20min article mentions heating oil. But, asbestos, batteries and who knows what else may be present in the rubble. Usually, all risky substances are kept under control, but it is a soup of hazardous materials now. Soil and water can be cleaned, but there’s an invoice to be paid.
So, pollution is another thing to consider in the rebuild-relocate discussion:
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The latest: Herzog & de Meuron will build Blatten new. Gonna be some fancy place! 
Some stats on Blatten (before the landslide):
364 residences thereof 113 first homes (36%)
303 residents including 18 minors
average age 48 (Zürich: 37), median age 50
Why would you rebuild apartments and houses that are already mostly empty? And most of those that aren’t already probably will be in a generation or two. Rebuilding anywhere close to the original location is pretty bonkers.
Pay out the owners of the holiday homes (the entire valley municipalities mostly consist of them) and move the residents a little down the valley to the Ferden-Kippel-Wiler area where the new homes get built.
And while you’re at it fusion the four municipalities (some 1500 residents total) to one larger (and hopefully viable) single one.
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I imagine, it’s about as difficult telling these people what to do as it’s telling people from Schwyz to get vaxed 
Necessity is the mother of invention.
Glarus has only three municipalities now, after the reform two decades ago. It’s the only canton without Bezirke (counties).
There are counties? Never heard that? Commmunes/gemeindes yes, cantons yes, counties no.
I think they might be referred to as ‘régions ’ in French speaking Switzerland although I’m not really sure.
They’re obviously not something that is mentioned often as I’ve not really heard of them either.
Neuchâtel has 4 régions apparently.
Personally I would consider cantons to be the equivalent of the British counties so I don’t think counties is a good choice of word.
Swiss and others call those states though, not counties.
As mentioned they’re called Bezirk in German, not sure about the other languages.
I had the US in mind.
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