Switzerland: Floods cause deadly landslide
June 23, 2024
One person was dead in Switzerland on Sunday after severe storms hit the south of the country, causing flooding and a landslide.
Three people initially went missing in the landslide, but police later announced that the body of one was found. The search for the other two remained ongoing.
Dozens of people were evacuated due to a landslide in the Mesocco and Calanca valleys in the southeastern canton of Graubünden.
The houses of those missing were destroyed in the landslide in Mesocco. Streets in the village were flooded, according to cantonal police.
Another woman had been reported missing but was found on Saturday morning.
A stretch of some 200 meters on the A13 highway to Italy was destroyed.
Swiss President Viola Amherd said she was shocked by the scale of the damage.
“My thoughts are with those affected. I thank the emergency personnel for their tireless efforts in this difficult situation,” Amherd said on X.
Trains resume in Zermatt, after ski town was briefly cut off by floodwaters
Trains began running in the town of Zermatt in the southwestern canton of Valais after rail traffic had been suspended for over 24 hours.
Schools had also been closed in the town.
Zermatt is located near Matterhorn, a popular tourist destination.
Both the railway line and the road into the town had been blocked temporarily due to flooding.
The Vispa river, a headstream of the Rhone that runs through the canton, broke its banks. Authorities declared a state of emergency for the Rhone and several of its tributaries.
Swiss news agency SDA cited Marie-Claude Noth-Ecoeur, the head of the Valais branch of the civil protection service, as saying that 230 people were forced to leave their homes by late on Friday.
Over 200 firefighters and 50 civil protection workers were involved in rescue activities, she said.
sdi/rm (dpa, AFP)