Content reserved for subscribersBad weather was deadly this weekend in Switzerland and caused chaos. The cantons of Valais and Ticino are particularly affected and are requesting help from the army to manage the crisis.
The Rhone, on the left, and the Navizence, on the right, overflowed into the industrial zone at Chippis. © Keystone
Published on 06/30/2024
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
The village of Saas-Grund torn in two by a torrential lava that left one dead. One person missing in Upper Valais. Neighborhoods under water in Raron, Gampel, Chippis and Sierre. Hundreds of people evacuated. Significant damage in the side valleys. Roads destroyed. Municipalities deprived of water and electricity: Valais is paying a heavy price for the floods of the Rhone and the side rivers that hit it between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
“The situation is very delicate. But she is under control. We remain attentive to what awaits us in the coming hours. There is no question of letting down our guard,” indicated Frédéric Favre, State Councilor in charge of Security, during a press briefing organized on Sunday afternoon.
An explosive cocktail
River levels have been under scrutiny for several days in Valais. Coming out of a snowy winter and a cold spring, the layer of snow at altitude was still thick in recent days. “The increase in temperatures has pushed the zero degree limit very high. This has caused the snowpack to melt rapidly, while the rivers were already loaded before this weekend,” explains cantonal geologist Raphaël Mayoraz. The exceptional weather situation this weekend, with very dynamic storm cells since Saturday afternoon, has made this whole cocktail particularly explosive.
“There is no question of letting down our guard”
Frédéric Favre
The rainfall mainly affected eastern Valais, in particular the upper parts of the Zermatt and Saas valleys and the Simplon, Binntal and Conches region, even further swelling torrents, rivers and, ultimately, the Rhone, which overflowed in various places, between Raron and Gampel or in Chippis and Sierre. Several hundred people have had to be evacuated in these regions since Saturday, but also in Sion, where the two campsites have been emptied. The images also show the extent of the damage on the Constellium company site.
The bad weather also led to the closure of many roads in the canton. The Simplon axis was notably closed to traffic, as was the motorway between Sierre and Sion. Rail traffic was also severely disrupted. Both on rail and on the road, “a gradual recovery” is expected next week, according to the authorities.
Fribourg firefighters?
Significant resources have been implemented. In addition to the staff of the cantonal police and municipal police, around 700 firefighters from more than 35 different services were engaged, as well as nearly 200 on civil protection duty. “We have also established contacts with a view to obtaining reinforcements from firefighters from the cantons of Vaud, Geneva, Neuchâtel and Fribourg,” says Marie Claude Noth-Ecœur, head of the Civil and Military Security Service. The canton also called on the army to support it, as a priority, in managing the crisis in the Sierre and Chippis region.
The drop in temperatures expected over the coming days should reduce snowmelt and flows. “Despite some rain, we remain calm,” informs Raphaël Mayoraz. According to the cantonal geologist, it will take one to two weeks to carry out the main emergency measures: restoration of drinking water and electricity, restoration of the main communication routes, cleaning of buildings. “Regarding the state of the dikes and banks, an inspection must be carried out. It will take several weeks. And to restore everything, it will take months,” he announces.
Work that is delayed
Faced with these events, the relevance of undertaking a revision of the third Rhône correction project was invited to the discussion table as of this Sunday. As a reminder, the Valais Council of State decided at the end of May to revise downwards the project for the third correction of the Rhône, deeming it “disproportionate”. Questioned on this subject, Frédéric Favre indicates that this overhaul aims precisely to refocus the correction of the river on security issues, “by having a global approach and taking into account the problem of lateral watercourses in this work. The analysis carried out by the Natural Hazards Service, among others, is confirmed by the events of the day,” he replies.
On social networks, the debate did not wait for the river level to drop to be put back on the table. “The situation is catastrophic,” says Carole Morisod, substitute member of the Grand Council for the Greens. “What more damage is needed to make it clear that the initial Rhône 3 project must be implemented quickly and that State Councilor Ruppen and the UDC would do better to change their tune.”
The Salavaux fan zone between anger and incomprehension
The canton of Fribourg was not violently affected by the storm that crossed Switzerland between Saturday evening and Sunday morning. “It’s completely calm. We have not received any calls or requests for intervention,” said Bertrand Ruffieux, from the communications department of the Fribourg cantonal police, on Sunday morning.
MeteoSwiss had issued a level 3 alert for the canton of Fribourg and level 4 for Payerne. Unlike Fribourg, the cantons of Vaud and Geneva decided to cancel all permits for outdoor events on Saturday from 2 p.m. Gusts of wind, hail and heavy rain were expected in the second half of the day.
The Salavaux fan zone was therefore unable to broadcast the Switzerland-Italy match at 6 p.m. But the region was also spared from the storms. Its manager Denise Maibach fumes, estimating the loss of earnings at 60,000 francs. She intends to file a complaint against the canton.
“This decision is irresponsible and scandalous. Like any organizer, I have a concept of safety, even with a device to measure the wind. We were prepared to evacuate people if necessary – we have experienced this before – even if the weather radar showed that we would not be affected by bad weather. The canton of Vaud is big.”
The organizer has loss of winnings insurance. “But it is not sure that she will agree to pay anything. Beyond the money, these are emotions that we were not able to share,” she regrets.
Today’s facts
On Sunday morning, the Vaud authorities decided to preemptively evacuate the Aigle industrial zone. As the situation returned to normal, access was again authorized at the end of the day.
In Ticino, Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis expressed the Federal Council’s support for the population of Val Maggia and the authorities during a press conference in Locarno. The repetition of catastrophic events “touches us deeply,” he said, as Ticino was hit hard just a week after Mesolcina, in Italian-speaking Graubünden.
France, Italy and Germany were also affected by the bad weather over the weekend. In the north-east of France, three elderly people died on Saturday evening, crushed by a tree while they were in their car in the Aube department. A fourth passenger is still in absolute emergency. In Italy, Piedmont and the Aosta Valley are also experiencing floods and mudslides. In Germany, the Germany-Denmark match had to be interrupted for several minutes due to a violent storm accompanied by intense rain and hail.
>The Nouvelliste
