Heavy rainfall hit Switzerland on the night of Saturday to Sunday, June 30, leading to a landslide. According to local authorities, several people remain missing.
Several people are missing in Switzerland in the canton of Ticino (south-east), after a landslide caused by torrential rains which hit a large part of the Alpine country since Saturday, the police said on Sunday June 30.
The major storms “caused a landslide in the Fontana region (northwest of the canton) and people were reported missing”, wrote the police of the Italian-speaking canton in a press release, without providing further details. Rescue operations are particularly difficult due to bad weather conditions, reports this source.
A call to evacuate houses near the Maggia river was launched early Sunday morning for residents of Prato-Sornico and the Maggia valley, where the missing are being sought.
The roads are closed and the campsites located along the river have been evacuated, the cantonal police also indicated. In addition, a bridge was washed away by the waters blocking the cantonal road.
Several valleys close to the Maggia valley are no longer accessible and the electricity has been cut off. Part of the canton also finds itself without drinking water, according to the federal alert system Swissalert.
The Rhône is overflowing
Since Saturday afternoon, a large part of Switzerland has been affected by violent storms accompanied by very heavy rainfall.
Further west, overflows of the Rhône and its tributaries, swollen by torrential rains and melting snow, forced the evacuation of several hundred people and the closure of numerous roads, according to local authorities in Valais.
“Several hundred people were evacuated” after the Rhône overflowed in different places, notably between Rarogne and Gampel or even in Chippis and Sierre, underline the civil security services of the canton of Valais (south-west) in a press release released on Sunday.
“Overflows and debris flows (mud and rock flows, editor’s note) along side watercourses took place”, forcing in particular the closure to traffic of the Simplon pass road, a major artery of the international but also cantonal traffic. Many other roads are closed in Valais.
In Zermatt, the Visp has once again burst its banks, according to images posted on the social network X during the night. The images show the muddy waters rushing down the streets of this famous mountain resort at the foot of the Matterhorn.
Heavy rains had already caused flooding in the same places in the city on June 21. Road access from Täsch is also closed. Rail traffic is also disrupted in part of the canton.
Authorities in several cantons had decided to cancel all outdoor events on Saturday, depriving thousands of supporters of the Swiss national team of the opportunity to celebrate their victory against Italy at the Euro together.
