The President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd travelled by helicopter to the Valais on Monday morning to visit the areas hit by the weekend’s bad weather, before heading to Ticino. The army is also continuing its commitment, with the dispatch of specialist units.
In Valais as in Ticino, Viola Amherd is going to assure those affected of the support of the Confederation, announces the DDPS.
The devastating floods caused by torrential rains on the night of Saturday to Sunday have led to landslides, causing at least four deaths: three in Val Maggia (TI) and nearby, and one in Upper Valais, in Saas Grund, plus at least two missing persons. Hundreds of people have been evacuated.
The President of the Confederation will be accompanied in Valais by the Valais State Councillor Frédéric Favre, in charge of security, institutions and sport. In the afternoon, she will be in Ticino to get an idea of the situation on the ground with the President of the State Council Christian Vitta. She will also meet with the presidents of the municipalities and the intervention forces.
In the coming days, as part of military disaster relief and at the request of the cantons, specialized training will be deployed to help the affected population and support the authorities concerned.
Ferris wheel of trucks
Rescuers were everywhere on Monday in the disaster areas. In Chippis (VS), “between 10 and 18 trucks took turns to control the level of the river”, which was tending to rise due to the floating materials, Marc-André Genolet, spokesman for the command staff of the villages of St Léonard, Grône and Chippis, explained to Keystone-ATS.
Some 25,000 m3 of rubble were removed on Monday morning from the Navizance, the river which rises in Zinal and flows into the Rhône.
Closed roads and passes in Upper Valais
Also in Central Valais, a section of the A9 motorway remained closed in both directions on Monday morning. The waters also prevented traffic between Sierre-Est and Sierre-Ouest. Diversions have been put in place, the TCS said.
The Simplon Pass road was also still impassable due to a landslide.
On the Saas Fee side, the road between Saas-Baalen and Saas-Grund was closed, as was the Nefenen Pass between Ulrichen (VS) and Aurolo (TI). Zermatt, on the other hand, remained reachable.
In addition, the railway line between Leuk and Gampel-Steg was still interrupted on Monday due to flooding. Interregional trains between Sierre and Brig were unable to run.
Military flyover
The DDPS recalls that army helicopters have been deployed since Sunday morning to provide the civil authorities with complete images of the situation to assess the extent of the damage. In addition to aerial reconnaissance, the army’s assistance has also made it possible, through the deployment of two Super Pumas, to evacuate around 300 people from an area cut off from the world in Ticino.
This article was published automatically. Source: ats
