AFP
Seven dead in bad weather that hit Switzerland, France and Italy
At least seven people have died in France and Switzerland during the violent storms, tempests and torrential rains that swept through the two countries as well as northern Italy on Saturday, local authorities announced on Sunday. In southern Switzerland and northern Italy, the material damage is considerable, caused by mudslides, raging rivers and floods. In France, in the Aube department (northeast), three elderly people were killed on Saturday evening when a tree fell on the car in which they were traveling. A fourth passenger, injured, is in critical condition. In Switzerland, four people died and two are missing. In Ticino (southeast), a landslide killed three people and one person is still being sought, the cantonal police announced on Sunday. In the canton of Valais (southwest), a man, “probably surprised by the rapid rise in water levels”, was found dead in a hotel in Saas-Grund, according to the cantonal police. The situation is “dramatic” in this town, part of which has been devastated by torrential lava – mudflows mixed with rocks -, according to the Valais elected official responsible for security, Frédéric Favre. Road access to the village is cut off, police told AFP. A man is also missing in Valais, according to police. – Val Maggia isolated – In Ticino, some 400 people – including 40 children from a holiday camp – had to be evacuated from risk areas and taken to civil protection shelters. Val Maggia and its side valleys are only accessible by air, after a bridge collapsed and was swept away by the floods near Cevio, at the entrance to the valley, police said at a press briefing, reports the Keystone-ATS agency. All communications, electricity and drinking water are also cut off across the region. Already last week, bad weather left one person dead and two missing in Switzerland. The repetition of catastrophic events “touches us deeply”, declared Sunday in Locarno the head of Swiss diplomacy Ignazio Cassis, originally fromTicino.- Valais “under control” – In the southwest of Switzerland, overflows of the Rhone and its tributaries, swollen by torrential rains and melting snow, have led to the evacuation of several hundred people and the closure of many roads, and caused considerable damage, according to local authorities in Valais. The situation is now “under control” and the water level is receding, indicated on Sunday afternoon the Valais State Councilor responsible for security, Frédéric Favre, during a press briefing, reports the Keystone-ATS agency. The context will nevertheless remain “fragile” for several days, he stressed. The canton had not experienced such a situation since 2000, when the village of Gondo was ravaged by a torrent of mud, which caused thirteen victims, recalled Mr. Favre. – Italy too – On the Italian side, Piedmont and the Aosta Valley (northwest) have also suffered floods and mudslides. The Piedmont firefighters announced Sunday morning that they had carried out 80 interventions to rescue people in difficulty. In the Aosta Valley, an autonomous region located along the border with France and Switzerland, a mudslide temporarily blocked the regional road providing access to Cervinia. A torrent overflowed caused significant damage in the centre of this tourist resort, where several shops were flooded. Also in the Aosta Valley, a village of 1,300 inhabitants, Cogne, also found itself cut off from the world, a mudslide having blocked the access roads. The village recorded 90 mm of rainfall in six hours on Saturday. Near Cogne, in Valnontey, the electricity network is out of service, as is the water supply network. During the night, a helicopter rescued a family stranded in this town.bur-vog/cls
