Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms caused landslides and flooding in Valais and Ticino over the weekend. The week before, there were floods and a landslide in the Misox Valley in Graubünden. The situation at a glance.
- Following the storms in Ticino over the weekend in the Maggia Valley, the cantonal authorities have issued a general bathing ban on the Maggia River. Swimming is also prohibited on the shores of Lake Maggiore in Locarno, Ascona and Tenero if there is debris. The Ticino cantonal police announced this on Thursday (July 4).
- The SBB have announced the resumption of train services between Siders and Visp from Thursday followingnoon (4 July). The route has been closed since last Sunday due to flooding. According to a press release from SBB on Wednesday, work to restore the section between Leuk and Gampel is nearing completion. According to the current forecast, rail traffic might resume from Thursday at 12 noon.
- After the mudslides this weekend, the closed Simplon Pass is not expected to be reopened until the beginning of next week. The Federal Roads Office (Astra) announced this in a press release on Wednesday (July 3). The Engi Gallery in question is currently being cleaned and better protected with wooden supports. At the same time, a detailed inventory of any damage to the infrastructure is underway. Astra is also analyzing the risk of further mudslides in the region. According to Astra, the closure of the Simplon Pass and the A 13 is noticeable on the alternative routes. From Friday at 5 a.m., the A 13 between Lostallo and Mesocco will be available once more with one lane in each direction. This will relieve the pressure on the Gotthard axis.
- The body of another person has been found in the Maggia Valley. The Ticino cantonal police announced this on Wednesday (July 3). As on Tuesday, the police found the body in Riveo in the riverbed of the Maggia. The identity of the person is still unknown.
- The three women who died in the Maggia Valley over the weekend are German.This was announced by the Cantonal Police Ticino on Tuesday (July 2nd). The women were from Baden-Württemberg, two were 73 years old, one 76 years old. A spokesman told the news agency DPA that he assumed that at least two of the three knew each other. It was difficult to say who lived in which house because only piles of rubble remained following the landslide.
The authorities declared the highest level of danger for Valais on Sunday morning (June 30). Meteo Switzerland recorded more than 10,000 lightning strikes on Saturday evening, most of them over the canton of Valais and the Bernese Alps.
A lot of rain fell, especially in Upper Valais. Small mountain streams burst out of their river courses in the southern side valleys and swept away embankments, trees and boulders. In some places they carried the mud and rubble into the villages and even into the houses. For example, in Saas-Grund, in the Saas Valley.
The Rhone, into which many of the mountain streams flow, has also overflowed its banks in several places. Several bridges over the river were closed. In Sierre, entire districts were under water. In Zermatt, the Vispa overflowed its banks once more following the storms in mid-June.
An aerial photograph shows the Rhone near Sieders in the canton of Valais.
Federal President Viola Amherd, right, gets an overview of the situation in Chippis in the canton of Valais.
Hundreds of people had to be evacuated between Brig and Sion during the night and on Sunday morning. In Saas-Grund, a man was found dead in a hotel on Sunday. According to the police, he was a 67-year-old German citizen who was trying to get personal belongings from the basement of a hotel when he was surprised by the floodwaters. A 52-year-old Swiss man is still missing in the municipality of Binn.
The cantonal management body lifted the alarm for the Rhone and its tributaries on Monday (July 1). However, the population is still being urged not to go near riverbeds and to be careful when hiking. The paths might be damaged in some places and the terrain might be unstable, according to a statement.
On the reports on the situation in Valais:
Flooding has also occurred in the canton of Ticino. Following a landslide in the Maggia Valley, Rega recovered two bodies on Sunday (30 June). A third person was later found dead. According to the Ticino cantonal police, five people are still missing: one person in Lavizzara and four in the areas of Prato-Sornico (municipality of Lavizzara) and Fontana. According to the cantonal police, the search is being made more difficult by the high water level of the Maggia. At the moment, it is only possible to search on the water surface. At the beginning of the week, the police found two bodies in the riverbed of the Maggia near Riveo; it is still unclear whether these are the missing people.
On Saturday (29 June), following heavy rainfall, huge masses of water flowed through the Maggia Valley. Within a few hours, the Maggia swelled massively: instead of the usual 25 cubic metres of water, the river carried 2000 cubic metres per second, which is the equivalent of the volume of an Olympic swimming pool.
The authorities have called on people in the Maggia Valley to leave their houses near the river and seek shelter at higher altitudes. They should also not go into the basement or underground car park. Campsites along the Maggia have also been evacuated. Several roads are blocked by the flooding. In Cevio, the Visletto Bridge, which is important for the town, was also swept away by the water masses. The Swiss Army is now planning to build a military auxiliary bridge over the Maggia.
An aerial photograph of the village of Piano di Peccia shows an avalanche of debris that rolled into the village as a result of the flooding over the weekend.
A landslide destroyed a house in Fontana in the Bavona Valley.
A few valleys near the Maggia Valley are also no longer accessible. They were also temporarily cut off from the electricity supply and had no mobile phone network. As the Swiss disaster warning service Alertswiss announced, parts of Ticino are also cut off from the drinking water supply.
The latest reports on the situation in Ticino
In Graubünden, one person is still missing following flooding and a landslide. A total of four missing people were reported on Saturday morning (22 June). The bodies of a man and a woman have since been recovered. A woman who was buried was rescued from a cone of rubble in the Misox on Saturday and taken to hospital in Lugano, the authorities announced at a press conference at
Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms caused landslides and flooding in Valais and Ticino over the weekend. The week before, there were floods and a landslide in the Misox Valley in Graubünden. The situation at a glance.
- Following the storms in Ticino over the weekend in the Maggia Valley, the cantonal authorities have issued a general bathing ban on the Maggia River. Swimming is also prohibited on the shores of Lake Maggiore in Locarno, Ascona and Tenero if there is debris. The Ticino cantonal police announced this on Thursday (July 4).
- The SBB have announced the resumption of train services between Siders and Visp from Thursday followingnoon (4 July). The route has been closed since last Sunday due to flooding. According to a press release from SBB on Wednesday, work to restore the section between Leuk and Gampel is nearing completion. According to the current forecast, rail traffic might resume from Thursday at 12 noon.
- After the mudslides this weekend, the closed Simplon Pass is not expected to be reopened until the beginning of next week. The Federal Roads Office (Astra) announced this in a press release on Wednesday (July 3). The Engi Gallery in question is currently being cleaned and better protected with wooden supports. At the same time, a detailed inventory of any damage to the infrastructure is underway. Astra is also analyzing the risk of further mudslides in the region. According to Astra, the closure of the Simplon Pass and the A 13 is noticeable on the alternative routes. From Friday at 5 a.m., the A 13 between Lostallo and Mesocco will be available once more with one lane in each direction. This will relieve the pressure on the Gotthard axis.
- The body of another person has been found in the Maggia Valley. The Ticino cantonal police announced this on Wednesday (July 3). As on Tuesday, the police found the body in Riveo in the riverbed of the Maggia. The identity of the person is still unknown.
- The three women who died in the Maggia Valley over the weekend are GermanThis was announced by the Cantonal Police Ticino on Tuesday (July 2nd). The women were from Baden-Württemberg, two were 73 years old, one 76 years old. A spokesman told the news agency DPA that he assumed that at least two of the three knew each other. It was difficult to say who lived in which house because only piles of rubble remained following the landslide.
The authorities declared the highest level of danger for Valais on Sunday morning (June 30). Meteo Switzerland recorded more than 10,000 lightning strikes on Saturday evening, most of them over the canton of Valais and the Bernese Alps.
A lot of rain fell, especially in Upper Valais. Small mountain streams burst out of their river courses in the southern side valleys and swept away embankments, trees and boulders. In some places they carried the mud and rubble into the villages and even into the houses. For example, in Saas-Grund, in the Saas Valley.
The Rhone, into which many of the mountain streams flow, has also overflowed its banks in several places. Several bridges over the river were closed. In Sierre, entire districts were under water. In Zermatt, the Vispa overflowed its banks once more following the storms in mid-June.
An aerial photograph shows the Rhone near Sieders in the canton of Valais.
Federal President Viola Amherd, right, gets an overview of the situation in Chippis in the canton of Valais.
Hundreds of people had to be evacuated between Brig and Sion during the night and on Sunday morning. In Saas-Grund, a man was found dead in a hotel on Sunday. According to the police, he was a 67-year-old German citizen who was trying to get personal belongings from the basement of a hotel when he was surprised by the floodwaters. A 52-year-old Swiss man is still missing in the municipality of Binn.
The cantonal management body lifted the alarm for the Rhone and its tributaries on Monday (July 1). However, the population is still being urged not to go near riverbeds and to be careful when hiking. The paths might be damaged in some places and the terrain might be unstable, according to a statement.
On the reports on the situation in Valais:
Flooding has also occurred in the canton of Ticino. Following a landslide in the Maggia Valley, Rega recovered two bodies on Sunday (30 June). A third person was later found dead. According to the Ticino cantonal police, five people are still missing: one person in Lavizzara and four in the areas of Prato-Sornico (municipality of Lavizzara) and Fontana. According to the cantonal police, the search is being made more difficult by the high water level of the Maggia. At the moment, it is only possible to search on the water surface. At the beginning of the week, the police found two bodies in the riverbed of the Maggia near Riveo; it is still unclear whether these are the missing people.
On Saturday (29 June), following heavy rainfall, huge masses of water flowed through the Maggia Valley. Within a few hours, the Maggia swelled massively: instead of the usual 25 cubic metres of water, the river carried 2000 cubic metres per second, which is the equivalent of the volume of an Olympic swimming pool.
The authorities have called on people in the Maggia Valley to leave their houses near the river and seek shelter at higher altitudes. They should also not go into the basement or underground car park. Campsites along the Maggia have also been evacuated. Several roads are blocked by the flooding. In Cevio, the Visletto Bridge, which is important for the town, was also swept away by the water masses. The Swiss Army is now planning to build a military auxiliary bridge over the Maggia.
An aerial photograph of the village of Piano di Peccia shows an avalanche of debris that rolled into the village as a result of the flooding over the weekend.
A landslide destroyed a house in Fontana in the Bavona Valley.
A few valleys near the Maggia Valley are also no longer accessible. They were also temporarily cut off from the electricity supply and had no mobile phone network. As the Swiss disaster warning service Alertswiss announced, parts of Ticino are also cut off from the drinking water supply.
The latest reports on the situation in Ticino
In Graubünden, one person is still missing following flooding and a landslide. A total of four missing people were reported on Saturday morning (22 June). The bodies of a man and a woman have since been recovered. A woman who was buried was rescued from a cone of rubble in the Misox on Saturday and taken to hospital in Lugano, the authorities announced at a press conference at the weekend.
