Swimming banned due to driftwood and debris in the Maggia
Published: Thursday, Jul 4th 2024, 15:40
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In Ticino, the authorities have issued a bathing ban following the storms last weekend. This applies to the Maggia and parts of Lake Maggiore. In Valais, a further evacuation was necessary on Thursday night.
Clean-up work continued on Thursday in the Maggia Valley in Ticino and Valais, which was particularly affected by the storms. The Maggia was still carrying a lot of debris and alluvial wood. Swimming in the river is therefore prohibited, according to the Ticino emergency services.
A bathing ban also applies to parts of Lake Maggiore - namely wherever wood and debris have been washed ashore. A lifting of the ban will only be considered after ongoing analyses by the cantonal laboratory have been completed, it was said.
Evacuees can return home
In Valais, slopes remain unstable after the heavy thunderstorms at the weekend. The authorities evacuated the village of Champsec in the Val de Bagnes on Thursday night due to a mudslide. A campsite and two hamlets had already been evacuated on Wednesday afternoon for the same reason. A total of around 240 people were brought to safety.
Late in the evening, the municipality also cleared the village itself due to the increasing amount of mud on the road. In addition, the Fregnoley torrent undermined a former garbage dump and partially buried the cantonal road.
Most of the residents of Champsec were only able to return home on Thursday, as the local authorities informed the Keystone-SDA news agency on request.
According to the information provided, the residents of five houses on the banks of the Dranse de Bagnes were not allowed to return to their homes for the time being. The precautionary measures also remained in place for the time being for around forty people from the hamlets of Les Epenays and Fregnoley and from the Champsec campsite.
Devastating balance sheet
At least eight people lost their lives in the storms over the past two weekends, according to the relevant cantonal authorities on Wednesday. Six others were still missing.
Just one week before the storms in Ticino and Valais, the Misox was hit by storms. A mudslide destroyed three houses in the village of Sorte in the municipality of Lostallo, while the Moesa river tore away a section of the A13 highway between Roveredo GR and Lostallo GR during the same storm.
A13 soon open again
There are signs of a slight easing of the effects of the storms on traffic. From Friday, travelers can once again travel to Ticino and Italy via the A13.
According to the Federal Roads Office (Astra), the pass road over the San Bernardino will also be reopened to traffic on Friday. However, even after the partial opening, the San Bernardino route will not have the usual capacity, emphasized the Astra.
Instead, traffic will be routed in one lane in two-way traffic. According to Astra, it will probably be the end of the year before the section of highway that was washed away by the flood is open to two lanes of traffic as usual.
The cantonal road between Grono and Lostallo remains reserved for local traffic due to the clearing work, as the canton of Graubünden wrote on Thursday. However, travelers with a destination between Lostallo and Grono, in particular tourist traffic with proof of a reservation, may also use the road.
©Keystone/SDA
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