Work begins on protective barrier for Sorte

The hamlet of Sorte, in the municipality of Lostallo, in the canton of Graubünden, will soon have a protective barrier against debris flows. The site for building the barrier will open in the coming days, and the work should be completed by autumn 2027.

Once finished, the structure will allow residents to return to live in the village. The municipality of Lostallo wrote in its statement that this is not just a protective structure ("non si tratta soltanto di un'opera di protezione"), but "an essential measure for the future of Sorte and for the possibility of rebuilding, on an adequate safety basis, what the flood severely damaged" ("un intervento essenziale per il futuro di Sorte e per la possibilità di ricostruire, su basi di sicurezza adeguate, ciò che l'alluvione ha profondamente compromesso").

Who pays for the rebuilding

The project requires an investment of 6.2 million francs. Funding comes from several sources: the Confederation, the canton of Graubünden, Swiss Solidarity, and private contributions. The insurer Mobiliare is contributing up to a maximum of 340,000 francs.

The remaining amount, around one million francs, falls to the municipality of Lostallo. For the authority of a small alpine hamlet, this is a significant sum to cover, at a time when municipal resources are also needed to oversee the rebuilding of homes and infrastructure damaged by the flood.

The situation in Sorte concerns Graubünden, but it touches on an issue that also applies to other alpine valleys exposed to similar hazards, including in Ticino: how long can small mountain municipalities alone afford to shoulder the cost of increasingly necessary protective works, and on what timeline can displaced families count on returning to their homes?