27.08.2018

Bondo - A year after the disaster

One year after the rockfall at Piz Cengalo, the situation in Bondo remains tense. Here we explain how the donations have been used so far.

Great solidarity

A year has passed since the devastating rockfall at Piz Cengalo, in which eight people lost their lives and damage was caused to infrastructure and several buildings.

The response was huge to our appeal for donations for the people in Bondo, some of whom lost everything. Although we did not organise a special fundraising day, we nonetheless received CHF 5,926,387 in donations. Thank you!

Donations spent so far

So far, we have spent CHF 227,037 of this amount. That may not seem like much at first glance. But CHF 164,000 has been enough for 55 households to buy new clothes and furniture and to meet further urgent costs in order to be able to go about their daily lives again.

In addition, we have approved 24 applications for bridging costs and residual costs from private individuals, one local business and a local association. This money is needed to meet costs such as having to pay two lots of rent, when families have had to move temporarily to another apartment. We have also helped to cover the additional transport costs that this entailed, and of course the remaining costs for furniture, machines, tools, stock etc. which were destroyed by the sludge and rubble and have had to be replaced.

A donations committee has been set up to monitor how the donations are spent, ensuring that they are distributed fairly and that all applicants are treated equally. We are represented on this committee by Caritas Switzerland.

Using the remaining donations

At present, four applications are still pending, two of which are from small businesses and worth several hundred thousand francs. These should be processed within the next few weeks or months. However, the largest amounts are required for restoring infrastructure in the commune. According to the authorities, it will take several years to implement and complete the restoration projects. It is therefore not possible to put a figure on the costs of repair at present. Nor is it known to what extent the insurance companies will meet the costs of repairing the damage to the communal infrastructure.

Only once this is clear will it become apparent how much donated money we can use.

Possible further damage

If further damage should occur in Bondo due to renewed debris flows, this damage will, if possible, be covered by the sum of almost CHF 6 million received in donations.

If we cannot use all the donations in Bondo because they are greater than the residual costs – after the insurance companies, cantons, federal government etc. have paid their contributions – then the surplus will go into our permanent  fund “Natural Disaster in Switzerland“. This allows us to react immediately to other natural disasters and to help the people affected.

If you have any questions or would like to know more about our Foundation, please contact us. We will be happy to answer you.