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FLOODS

IN PICTURES: What’s the latest after Switzerland hit by devastating floods?

Parts of Switzerland including the canton of Graubünden and the resort of Zermatt were hit by huge floods over the weekend which left buildings and roads destroyed. Here's the latest as two people remain missing.

Published: 24 June 2024 15:18 CEST
IN PICTURES: What's the latest after Switzerland hit by devastating floods?
A police woman stands amid debris and rocks unleashed by a massive landslide. Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP)

A massive thunderstorm on Friday night unleashed the rivers in the eastern canton, causing a rock and mud avalanche in the municipality of Misox.

The resort of Zermatt, in nearby canton of Valais, was also impacted and was temporarily cut off from the rest of the country.

Additionally, landslide of mud and rubble destroyed a part of the north-south axis of the A13 motorway.

The collapsed section, between Thusis (GR) and Bellinzona (TI), is an important throughway for both passenger and commercial traffic, as it connects Switzerland with Italy.

This photograph shows signs at the entrance of the hamlet of Sorte, south of Lostallo in the Moesa Region in the Swiss canton of Graubunden (Grisons) after violent downpours caused floods and landslides on June 23, 2024. Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP

This aerial photograph shows a view of the hamlet of Sorte, south of Lostallo in the Moesa Region in the Swiss canton of Graubunden (Grisons) after violent downpours caused floods and landslides on June 23, 2024. Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP

According to the Graubünden cantonal police, this section will remain out of service “for months,” including the busy summer holiday period.

This is the update on these events:

Missing people

One of the victims, a woman, was found alive in rocks and mud on Saturday, and taken to a hospital. 

This photograph shows rocks around houses in the hamlet of Sorte, south of Lostallo in the Moesa Region in the Swiss canton of Graubunden (Grisons) after violent downpours caused floods and landslides on June 23, 2024. Photo: Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP

The body of a man was found eight kilometres from where he went missing, police said.

The other two people remain missing at this point and  “the probability of finding them alive is low,” said William Kloter, spokesperson for Graubünden police.

Zermatt

After having been suspended over much of the weekend, public transport to the famous Alpine resort, where no cars are permitted, is again operating on a regular schedule.

You can find all the timetable here. 

The A13 motorway

While the repair work on the 200-metre collapsed section has already began, it is still unclear how long the motorway closure will last, given the extent of damage.

The Buffalora bridge on the A13 did not suffer too much damage.

This aerial photograph shows a view of the A13 motorway section which collapsed in an area flooded by the Moesa river near Mesocco in the Graubunden (Grisons) canton in Switzerland on June 23, 2024. -(Photo by Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP)

However, a spokesperson for the Federal Roads Office told public broadcaster SRF on Monday that “with a bridge, you have to be able to ensure the structural stability. Work can only really begin once the floodwaters have receded. And that depends on the weather conditions.”

So what is the weather forecast for the affected areas?

According to meteorologist Simon Eschle, “there is no widespread rain in sight over the next few days. There will be occasional thunderstorms on Tuesday or Wednesday, but overall, there should be some relief for now.”

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WEATHER

Switzerland braced for more violent storms this weekend

After a few sunny days' reprieve from severe weather, Switzerland will experience more thunderstorms this weekend raising fears of further localised floods.

Published: 28 June 2024 15:54 CEST
Switzerland braced for more violent storms this weekend

Swiss federal weather service MeteoSchweiz reported that sunny conditions are expected across most of Switzerland on Thursday and Friday.

However, violent storms and even hail showers are forecast to return on Saturday afternoon, with more developing throughout Sunday.

Image: https://www.meteoschweiz.admin.ch/#tab=forecast-map

Dangerous storm conditions are most likely in the cantons of Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel, Jura, Basel-City, Basel-Land and north-west parts of Bern, according to the meteorological service. 

The storms pose a moderate threat in the remainder of Bern, Ticino, Lucerne, Aargau, Appenzell Outer Rhodes and Appenzell Inner Rhodes.

Alpine areas are the most likely to be affected by rain, thunder and lightning, while the lowlands will experience milder and drier conditions.

MeteoSchweiz reports that weather conditions will then improve across the next week. 

Severe weather disruptions

The forecast comes after parts of Switzerland were subjected to severe thunderstorms and rain over the past seven days. 

On Saturday, June 22, storms in the canton of Graubünden left police searching for three missing hikers in the Mesolcina Valley and forced dozens of residents to be evacuated amid fears of flooding and landslides. 

Also in Graubünden, the A13, an important motorway connecting Switzerland’s north and south, was also severed by landslides and flooding near the town of Lostallo.

The motorway will completely closed until July 10, when one lane will be reopened. It is not expected that all lanes will be operational before the end of the year.

In the canton of Valais, the storms also temporarily isolated Zermatt from the rest of the country, as roads were blocked and the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn railway was damaged, necessitating several weeks of repair. 

Similar weather on Tuesday night also led to what has been called ‘the flood of the century’ in the canton of Vaud, where a month’s worth of torrential rain left the town of Morges, on the shores of Lake Geneva under several feet of water.

Better preparation required

The dangerous conditions have led to calls for the country to better prepare for such natural disasters.

Swiss hydrologist Frédéric Jordan told Swiss public radio, RTS, on Monday: “In the last hundred years or so, heavy floods have typically occurred between August and October. 

“However, if we look at the last 12 months, we had a major flood on the Rhône River on November 14, 2023 and one on June 21, 2024, which is quite new,” he explained.

He went on to state that “Switzerland must take note of this new information and adapt.”

Despite fluctuations in weather trends over the past four decades, flooding has cost Switzerland approximately 3.5 billion francs since records began in 1972.

In that period of time, the worst flooding occurred in August 2005, leaving much of the country underwater and resulting in multiple deaths and the evacuation of thousands.

Outlook for the rest of the summer

Meteorologist Roger Perret, of the Swiss weather blog MeteoNews, nevertheless offers hope for those looking for a sunny summer. 

Analysing air pressure, precipitation and ocean temperature data, his ‘Summer Oracle’ predicts warmer, drier weather over July and August. 

He writes: “The record high temperatures of the seas certainly indicate that there will be heat waves, which encourage the formation of Atlantic lows, which will encourage hot south to southwest conditions over central and western Europe.

Perret notes in his blog that his MeteoNews colleague, Fred Decker, offers a similar prognostication 

“July and August would then be largely dominated by the Azores high, which would mean that Switzerland would often have dry, sunny and above-average warm weather. 

“Longer periods of heat are also quite possible. Thunderstorms would occur mainly in the  and would be rare in the lowlands.”

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