Medji
Fig. 1 : View of the unstable rock mass of Medji in September 2002.
During the autumn 2002, a rock mass of approximately 100,000 m3 of broken up gneiss began to move with unusual velocities above the village de St Niklaus. In October 2002 the movement accelerated (Fig. 1). Important precipitation increased the destabilization of the massive.
The area of St Nicolas is highly fractured and the morphology of the valley favored the landsliding (Fig. 1 and 2).
The rockfall occurred on 22nd November, while the population had been evacuated and an embankment was under construction. Note that the Randa rockfall is situated a few kilometers in the south (Figs. 2 and 3).
Fig. 2 : Picture from the rockfall (from : http://www-geol.unine.ch/cours/geol/massflow.html, source “20 Minuten”)
Fig. 3 : View after the rockfall (2003).