Firefighters were hard at work on Wednesday after the violent storms which hit Tuesday evening along the Jura. The region of Morges was particularly affected. At Cointrin, airport traffic was disrupted.
Just Morges and in the surrounding area, firefighters carried out nearly 210 interventions after the storm that occurred the day before around 6:00 p.m. At the end of Wednesday afternoon, they were still present on thirteen sites. “We are still pumping,” Thierry Charrey, commander of SIS Morget, told Keystone-ATS.
The situation normalized during the day, after the record flood of the Morges and the floods that followed. “The river level rose quickly, but it also fell quickly,” observed the commander.
City services and emergency services worked all day to evacuate water from cellars and basements as well as to remove mud from the road and sidewalks. Around forty people from Civil Protection and around twenty firefighters were still on the ground in the afternoon.
The risk of storms is still present and the emergency services are on constant watch. Listen to Colonel Florian Cuche, head of fire defense and rescue operations for the ECA.
Closed swimming pool
The swimming pool, a shopping center, the Sports Park parking lot and several businesses remained closed on Wednesday. The authorities called for caution, asking people to avoid footbridges and the banks of the Morges, and to be careful on slippery roads and sidewalks. The traditional market was able to be maintained. Morges union member Mélanie Wyss says she is grateful to the emergency services.
No victims have been reported, Vaud police said. “We were well beyond the 100-year flood,” stressed its spokesperson Jean-Christophe Sauterel, to Keystone-ATS. The flow rate of the Morges reached 45 m3/second, while the level of a 100-year flood is 34 m3/second.
20 million damage
The bad weather only caused material damage. The Vaud cantonal insurance establishment (ECA) expects to receive between 2000 and 3000 claims reports. According to an initial estimate, the damage could be around 20 million francs.
“However, it is far too early to draw a complete assessment of the event. This will not be possible for several days,” said Rafael Stuker, communications manager at the ECA. By mid-afternoon, the center had received 290 disaster announcements by telephone and 172 online.
The majority of cases come from the region of Morges, particularly the area under the station. “But damage has also been announced in the North of Vaud, in Orbe, Champvent and Auberson for example,” added Mr. Stuker.
Possible record at L’Auberson
A possible absolute record in Switzerland over one hour could have been reached with 98 mm of water falling above L’Auberson (VD), according to Aude Untersee, forecaster at MétéoSwiss. “It’s huge. A total of 129 mm of water fell cumulatively over 2 to 3 hours, which is very spectacular,” she said.
The meteorological situation on Tuesday evening was characterized by “very local and stationary storm peaks, moving very little, hence the significant accumulation of water in places”, she added.
Eleven municipalities in the Apples region (VD) were deprived of landline telephones on Wednesday morning following the bad weather which hit the region, indicates the Confederation’s online site Alertswiss. Emergency services could only be reached via the mobile phone network.
Flood at Skyguide
At Geneva airport, traffic resumed Wednesday morning, a spokesman announced. The airspace above the city had been closed for two hours on Tuesday evening due to flooding in the basement of the Skyguide control centre.
Thirty flights arriving and 22 departing from Geneva were canceled, explained spokesperson Ignace Jeannerat. As some planes and their crews were unable to land, they were unable to leave on Wednesday morning. As a result, fourteen flights were canceled again early this morning. “Otherwise, operations are proceeding normally,” added Mr. Jeannerat.
According to the spokesperson, around a hundred passengers without a solution for the night were welcomed at terminal 2 of the airport by a crisis unit which provided them with camp beds, food and drinks.
Closure as a precaution
In the Skyguide building, the server cooling room was particularly affected. The air traffic controller then decided to close the airspace for two hours to avoid a risk of overheating of the control systems.
However, the cooling system was able to be put back into service in the early hours of the morning. The capacity of the airspace controlled from Geneva was also able to be increased to 70% this Wednesday morning, from 10:00 a.m., specifies Skyguide.
Elsewhere in Switzerland, bad weather also affected the canton of Basel-Landschaft. Around 270 calls came to the police for flooded cellars, power outages and other damage, particularly in the capital of Liestal.
LFM with Keystone ATS
