Water levels should continue to rise in many places until Thursday
Published: Wednesday, Dec 13th 2023, 00:01
Updated At: Wednesday, Dec 13th 2023, 00:01
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Persistent rainfall has led to a tense avalanche and flood situation in Switzerland. There are warnings of rising water levels, landslides and rockfalls throughout the canton of Valais due to heavy rainfall. The situation is critical and could deteriorate further during the night to Wednesday. The situation is not expected to ease until Friday.
In Valais, the authorities have declared a "special situation". The situation is currently critical throughout the canton, the cantonal command staff announced on Tuesday. Due to the risk of falling rocks, Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn trains were not running on Tuesday afternoon and replacement buses were operating.
The heavy rainfall, in addition to the melting snow, has saturated the soil with water, said the head of the Department of Security and Institutions, Frédéric Favre, at a media conference in Sion. This has led to geological instability, particularly along traffic routes.
Several sections of road were closed due to rockfalls, landslides or falling rocks. The cantonal command staff therefore recommended driving with increased caution on the roads and limiting journeys to the bare minimum.
According to the authorities, the situation in Valais could deteriorate further in the evening hours and during the night on Wednesday. Valais cantonal engineer Vincent Pellissier said that the entire catalog of natural disasters - landslides, flooding of watercourses, rockfalls, debris flows, landslides and avalanches - was possible.
Bern is also fighting against flooding
The floods are also causing problems for the canton of Bern. According to the natural hazards portal, Lake Biel was at the second-highest flood level, i.e. "great danger". The authorities there expected that the water level could reach the flood limit of 430.35 meters above sea level on Wednesday or Thursday. The water level of Lake Biel was 430.05 meters above sea level on Tuesday afternoon.
In the city of Bern, flood protection measures have been extended in the Marzili and Altenberg areas, as announced by Bern Rescue and Protection. The riverside paths have been closed. The authorities advise people to stay away from the banks of the Aare.
Several landslides hit roads in the Bernese Oberland on Tuesday, for example between Frutigen and Adelboden. The road was reopened in the late afternoon.
Rhine closed due to flooding
The Rhine at Basel was closed to ships until Thursday due to high water. The Rhine level exceeded the high water mark IIa of 838 centimetres at the Rheinhalle measuring station on Tuesday afternoon, according to the water level display on the website of the Swiss Rhine ports. This resulted in the closure of shipping between Rheinfelden AG and the Kembs lock in France.
In several regions of the canton of Vaud, the fire department, the civil defence, the Vaud police and the environmental agency were mobilized as a preventive measure to monitor the water levels of rivers and lakes.
The situation was particularly tense in the Orbe region on the southern foot of the Jura and in the Vallée de Joux. In Orbe, several bridges were under observation. The dam was reinforced with sandbags at certain points. The river did not overflow its banks. The Arve and Rhone rivers in Geneva were also in great danger: the Val d'Arve and Acacias bridges were closed on Tuesday evening, according to the Geneva cantonal police. According to Alertswiss, further bridges could be closed during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. The authorities advised the population to stay away from the rivers.
Significant avalanche danger
The avalanche danger is also currently considerable: the second-highest danger level (level 4) is forecast for Wednesday for the westernmost Valais and the Bernese Oberland, according to the avalanche bulletin. Otherwise, there is "considerable avalanche danger" (level 3).
Since Sunday, up to 100 liters of rain per square meter have fallen locally, according to the weather service Meteonews. The precipitation on the already wet soil and the intensive snowmelt caused the water levels of many bodies of water to rise. The highest levels are expected on Thursday.
According to various weather services, further precipitation is expected in the coming days, especially on the northern slopes of the Alps. According to forecasts by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), the water level is not expected to fall below the high water mark until Friday.
©Keystone/SDA
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