Heavy Storms Cause at Least Four Deaths in Switzerland and Overflow the Rhône River
Cars inside the rubble from a landslide caused by severe weather following storms that caused flooding and landslide in Saas-Grund, canton of Valais, Switzerland, 30 June 2024. Flooding and debris flows occurred along the Rhone River and its tributaries following heavy thunderstorms on 29 June and overnight, with several roads. Photo: EFE/EPA/OLIVIER MAIRE
June 30, 2024 Hour: 5:39 pm
At least four people have been killed in Switzerland and one remains missing due to landslides and flooding caused by strong weekend storms, which have overflowed several rivers, including the Rhone, one of the main in the Alpine country.
RELATED:
Côte D’Ivoire: Floods and Landslides Have Killed 24 People
Three of the dead were killed in a landslide in the Maggia valley of the canton of Ticino (south), where roads have been cut, at least one bridge has been destroyed and at least 400 people have been evacuated from various campsites and homes.
Three adjoining valleys became isolated on Sunday, and in the area power was interrupted, while the police asked the population to limit their movements and continues the search for a disappeared person also in the area affected by the landslide.
Further west, in the canton of Valais, where the upper Rhône is located, the river has overflowed in several areas, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate in the main towns of that stretch of the river, Briga and Sion (cantonal capital).
Also in Valais, a person died dragged by water and mud in the town of Saas Grund, in the Alps near the border with Italy. While the industrial area of Aigle, near the mouth of the Rhone at Lake Geneva, has been evacuated.
The authorities have recommended avoiding any non-urgent displacement in the lower valley, or approaching the banks of the river, which after forming Lake Geneva crosses large cities such as the Swiss Geneva or the French Lyon, Avignon and Arles.
Autor: ACJ
Fuente: EFE