Switzerland continues to struggle with storm damage on Sunday
Published: Sunday, Jul 7th 2024, 17:20
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Heavy rainfall caused landslides and road closures in parts of Switzerland on Sunday. In Ticino, a valley was cut off from the outside world after a landslide, and a section of the A2 highway was also temporarily closed for safety reasons.
Due to the intensive rainfall in Mendrisiotto over the weekend, debris and water from the slope above the highway between Mendrisio TI and Bissone TI threatened to spill onto the road, the Ticino emergency services told the Keystone-SDA news agency. After 4.30 p.m., the A2 was passable again in both directions.
The Valle di Muggio in southern Ticino was completely cut off from the outside world due to a landslide. This was confirmed by the Mendrisio fire department on Sunday morning. According to the report, a landslide above the village of Caneggio blocked both access roads and cut off the valley.
According to the Ticino cantonal police, roads in Chiasso, Morbio Inferiore, Novazzano and Coldrerio were also closed on Sunday. In addition, a customs house near Chiasso had to be closed due to flooding. In Graubünden, the main road between Zernez and Susch had to be closed due to flooding.
Stable situation in the upper Maggia Valley
However, the situation in the upper Maggia and Bavona valleys remained stable on Sunday. Despite heavy rainfall since midday on Saturday, the Ticino cantonal police received no reports of "unusual situations", said Renato Pizolli, head of communications for the emergency services.
However, the residents evacuated from the upper Maggia and Bavona valleys by Saturday were unable to return by Sunday afternoon. The Ticino emergency team wanted to wait for the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) to lift the rain warning for the affected areas, as a spokesperson for the emergency team announced on Sunday morning in response to an inquiry. Danger level 2 (moderate danger) had been declared for the upper Maggia Valley until at least Sunday evening at 8 pm.
Easing of the situation in Valais
Valais observed an improvement in the situation. On Sunday, the cantonal command staff lifted the flood alert for the Rhone and its tributaries. In addition, no major damage was detected in Valais during the night to Sunday, according to the cantonal command staff. According to the cantonal police, the canton of Graubünden also got off lightly on Sunday night.
It is likely to be a few hours before the situation eases in the south of Switzerland. The weather service Meteonews predicted rain and thunderstorms in some areas of Ticino into the night.
Southern Ticino was hit particularly hard by precipitation on Sunday. According to Meteonews, over 200 liters of rain per square meter have fallen in places since Saturday morning. The measuring station in Coldrerio recorded the most rain with 221 liters per square meter.
According to Meteonews, 100 liters more rain fell per square metre in the last 36 hours than is usually the case in an entire month.
©Keystone/SDA
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