Two people are rescued dead after landslide in the Maggia Valley
Published: Sunday, Jun 30th 2024, 11:50
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Around a week after the Misox, the Maggia Valley in Ticino was hit by severe storms on Saturday and Sunday night. Two people were rescued dead after a landslide. A third person was reported missing.
The accident occurred in the Fontana area, according to the Ticino cantonal police. They did not provide any information on the identity of the deceased. Identification is underway, it said.
Interrupted traffic routes
According to the police, the cantonal road through the Maggia Valley has been interrupted after a bridge collapsed in Visletto, a district of Cevio. Several side valleys are therefore no longer accessible by land. The campsites on the Maggia and a summer camp in Mogno have been evacuated.
The Ticino cantonal police set up a call center on Sunday to receive information from relatives and friends about people who may be in the storm area. The aim was to obtain useful information for any search operations, the police wrote.
The drinking water in the Upper Maggia Valley was contaminated on Sunday. The authorities warned via Alertswiss not to consume the tap water. The area from Cevio, Vaö Rovana, Val Bavona and Val Lavizzara was affected.
Flood alert in Valais
There is a flood alert in the canton of Valais. Flooding and debris flows occurred along the Rhone and its tributaries following the heavy thunderstorms on Saturday and during the night into Sunday. The thunderstorms were compounded by the melting snow and the fact that the ground was already saturated with water.
According to a statement from the cantonal command staff, there was flooding between Raron and Gampel and between Chippis and Sierre. People had to leave their homes in Goms, Täsch, Siders/Chippis and Sion, among other places. In total, several hundred people were brought to safety.
The storms also caused disruption to traffic. The Lausanne - Brig railroad line between Riddes and Ardon VS has been interrupted since Sunday morning, as the SBB announced on X. The A9 between Sierre and Sion was also interrupted. Several other roads were also impassable.
Record rainfall
The thunderstorms since midday on Saturday have brought heavy thunderstorms with record amounts of rain to the southern Valais Alps, the Simplon region and as far as the Leventina.
According to Meteonews, around 200 liters of rain per square meter have fallen in the upper Maggia Valley over the past 24 hours. That was much more than the devastating storm in Misox GR last weekend. There it was 120 liters of rain per square meter.
President Viola Amherd expressed her condolences on X. Her thoughts are with the people affected by the storms, she wrote. The Minister of Defense urged caution: "The situation remains tense. Please take care and follow the instructions of the authorities."
©Keystone/SDA
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