After serious concerns on Friday and Saturday due to the rapid rise in water levels, the situation has calmed down in Valais. The canton lifted the alarm on rivers late Sunday morning as well as the state of “special situation”. However, the side valleys were very affected.
“The situation is stabilizing and the decline continues,” indicated Sunday the cantonal control body (OCC) which decided to lift the alarm for the Rhône and lateral watercourses. The majority of evacuees were able to return to their homes.
However, river flows still remain high, floods have weakened the banks and landslides can occur locally, warns the OCC. He calls on the population to be careful in the coming days and “to avoid approaching river beds”.
>> Read: Due to the risk of flooding, Valais prohibits walks along the Rhône
Significant damage
The precipitation of recent days and the melting snow have caused flooding throughout the canton, with their share of debris flows and landslides. Significant damage was noted. “Work to restore infrastructure and the road network is underway,” notes the OCC.
The “special situation” was maintained between Friday evening and Sunday morning. It allows the Council of State to take control of the security system and obtain additional means of intervention if necessary. More than 300 people, including 157 firefighters and around forty civil protection personnel, were hired. No injuries were reported.
Danger decreasing in the plain, floating dam at the mouth of the Rhône
The situation had calmed down on Saturday evening at the Rhône. The peak of the flood was reached after midnight on the night of Friday to Saturday, with a flow rate of 819 m3 per second in Branson. On Saturday afternoon, the alert level was lowered to 2 (limited danger).
Although the river has begun to decline, the flow rates remain very high. The river level has approached that of 2000, the year of the last major flood episode, which caused significant damage. But since then, the dikes have been reinforced.
And another spectacular consequence of these floods downstream of the Rhône, tons of wood carried by the rivers were trapped by a floating dam at the mouth of the river in the town of Port-Valais. Extraction operations have been underway since Friday morning to prevent these trunks from reaching Lake Geneva, because these trunks and other waste could endanger boats on the lake. The work could last around ten days.
According to the company mandated by the cantons of Vaud and Valais for this work, between 5,000 and 7,000 cubic meters of wood were held at the mouth of the Rhône at midday on Saturday.
>> Images of tree trunks flowing to the mouth of the Rhône in the 7:30 p.m.:
Concerns for side valleys
“The side valleys cause us great problems, particularly those of Zermatt, Anniviers and Hérens, where the ground is very destabilized,” said Antoine, deputy head of civil and military security, on Saturday afternoon. Jacquod. In these sectors, several overflows and debris flows took place along the lateral watercourses, the decline of which is “very slow”. The Valais cantonal management body fears landslides there. What happens next will depend on the strength of the storms currently hitting, adds Antoine Jacquod.
We narrowly avoided disaster with absolutely incredible flow rates. They were predicted by the models, but to be honest, we had a little difficulty believing it
“In the lateral waterways, we narrowly avoided the catastrophe,” confirmed Saturday evening in Forum the head of the Natural Hazards Service of the canton of Valais Raphaël Mayoraz, who describes a “stable” situation but with a level of danger remains high. “Yesterday morning we arrived at absolutely incredible flow rates. They had been seen by the models, but to be frank, we had a little difficulty believing it. Well it happened anyway,” he said. conceded.
>> Read also: Deemed “disproportionate”, the 3rd Rhône correction will be revised
Based on the bill for the damage from the 2018 floods in Val d’Anniviers alone, the specialist envisages damages of up to several tens of millions of francs for the entire canton. Damage that is difficult not to link to climate change, he confirmed, when asked about the responsibility for climate change. It highlights in particular the increasing frequency and intensity of these events.
These are quite extreme events. We must stop believing that with protective structures, we can protect ourselves from everything!
Questioned on Saturday in the 12:30 p.m. newspaper, a resident of Val d’Anniviers criticized the protection work undertaken after the 2018 floods, which he said was insufficient. Although he says he understands this anger, Raphaël Mayoraz emphasizes that infrastructures always have a limited capacity: “These are still quite extreme events. We must stop believing that with protective works, we can cope. protect from everything! There are times when you have to admit that property will be affected, carry out evacuations and restore the premises afterwards!”
>> Listen to the Forum topic, with the interview with Raphaël Mayoraz:
>> Also listen to his speech on 7:30 p.m.:
Access to Zermatt restored
The situation is also particularly tense in Zermatt, where the precipitation was particularly intense. The Matter Vispa river (“Viège de Zermatt” in French) which crosses the Valais resort burst its banks on Friday. Several streets were flooded and the station’s schools were closed.
>> See the report from 7:30 p.m. in Zermatt:
The rail connection was interrupted between Visp, Täsch and Zermatt between Friday midday and Saturday evening. Access has now been restored: the Täsch-Zermatt line resumed on Saturday evening, while replacement buses operate the Visp-Täsch connection.
The track between Visp and Täsch, below Zermatt, is expected to remain closed at least until the end of next week, Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn warned on Saturday. The floods have “massively” affected the line in several places, so major rehabilitation work is necessary. The Gornergrat train was also closed due to a mudslide and will remain closed at least until Tuesday.
The access road to the Valais station was also re-established on Saturday evening around 8 p.m., after torrential lava poured onto the roadway on Friday, temporarily completely cutting off access to the station.
Around 5-6 o’clock, the situation was very difficult. Suddenly, on all sides, the rivers rose enormously after an immense storm
According to Zermatt President Romy Biner-Hauser, normality returned “slowly”, but there was no particular panic in the resort. Friday evening, she nevertheless asked residents to take refuge in the upper floors of homes. “Around 5-6 o’clock, the situation was very difficult. Suddenly, on all sides, the rivers rose enormously after a huge storm. That’s why we transmitted this message,” he said. she explains.
>> Listen to his testimony in Forum:
Vincent Cherpillod/jop with Forum, 7:30 p.m. and ats
