WITH VIDEO Three people are missing in Switzerland after severe weather. Thunderstorms and heavy rainfall caused flooding and a landslide in the southeast of the country, the police of the canton of Graubünden said. Holidaymakers to Italy are also affected.
Foreign editorial 22 Jun. 2024 Last update: 10:07
South of the St. Bernardino Pass, a huge mudflow completely erased part of the A13 highway near Mesocco, Switzerland. The A13 is an alternative route that many people take to avoid the busy Gotthard Tunnel on the A2. The extensive damage and accessibility problems will affect many holidaymakers heading to Italy, and it is expected that there will be extra crowds at the Gotthard Tunnel. It is unclear whether there were any casualties around the highway. There are fears that a recovery could take months.
x © Facebook page ‘To Italy by car’
Woman rescued from rubble
The Valle Mesolcina mountain valley, close to the Italian border, was particularly hard hit by the storm. One woman was found alive in the rubble on Saturday morning. “We managed to save at least one life,” a police officer from the canton of Graubünden said at a press conference in Roveredo, Switzerland on Saturday. Rescue forces on the ground continue to search for the three other missing people using helicopters and drones, police said.
As a precaution, several dozen people were removed from their homes. Streets were flooded. The police warned the population not to enter cellars and underground parking garages. A section of the highway on the border with Italy was closed due to a landslide. The zone in which the police and fire brigade had to intervene stretched over almost 2 kilometers.
The tourist village of Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn in the southern canton of Valais was also hit by severe weather. Two rivers burst their banks on Friday, causing water to rush through the streets. Rail and road links to the village were still closed on Saturday morning. As a result, Zermatt, popular with tourists, is still inaccessible. Authorities are monitoring the situation ‘with great concern’.
Heavy storms combined with melting snow have caused flooding in Zermatt. © Instagram Meteo Valle d’Aosta / X
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