A tiny Swiss village has been evacuated due to the imminent risk of a rock slide.

Brienz’s less than 100 villages were given 48 hours to leave their homes and pack up what they can.

Even the dairy cows were loaded up for departure after geologists warned a rockfall was imminent.

A rockslide that could destroy the village is possible. Two million cubic meters of rock are coming loose from a mountain.

Global warming has changed the alpine environment, and this has led to questions regarding the safety of certain mountain communities.

Brienz in Graubunden's eastern canton is now vacant.

The village is a geological danger and has been for a while. It is built on land which is subsiding towards the valley. This causes the church spires to lean, and large cracks in the buildings.

As the minutes ticked towards the deadline to leave, even Brienz's dairy cows were being taken to safety.

The residents, some young, some old, families, farmers and professional couples, had two days to abandon their homes.

They were asked earlier this week to evacuate the village by Friday evening.

Switzerland's Alpine regions are especially sensitive to global warming - as the permafrost high in the mountains begins to thaw, the rock becomes more unstable.

This particular mountain has always been unstable, but recently the rock has been shifting faster and faster.

Days of heavy rain could bring two million cubic metres of loosened rock crashing down the mountainside onto the village, scientists warned.

Now the villagers must wait, in temporary accommodation, for the rock to fall - and hope it misses their homes.