Intense rain causes water levels to rise in many places
Published: Tuesday, Dec 12th 2023, 14:30
Updated At: Tuesday, Dec 12th 2023, 14:30
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Persistent precipitation has led to a tense avalanche and flood situation in Switzerland. The authorities issued the second-highest warning level for flood and avalanche danger in some areas. Around a dozen roads were closed in Valais.
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 ground and the intensive snowmelt caused the water levels of many bodies of water to rise. The highest levels are expected in many places on Thursday.
The flood situation was particularly tense in western Switzerland, Valais, the northern slopes of the Alps, the Bernese Oberland and Graubünden. The second-highest avalanche danger level was declared, for example, in the Glarus and Central Swiss Alps, in the Bernese Oberland and in Valais.
Flood risk on Lake Biel and the Rhine
According to the natural hazard portal, Lake Biel was at the second-highest flood level, i.e. "great danger". The authorities there expected the water level to reach 430.35 meters above sea level on Wednesday or Thursday. On Tuesday morning, the water level stood at 429.58 meters above sea level. Lake Biel reached its highest level to date in 2021 with a level of 430.94 meters above sea level.
The Rhine at Basel was closed to ships until Thursday due to high water. The Rhine level exceeded the high water mark IIa of 820 centimetres at the Rheinhalle measuring station on Tuesday morning, as can be seen from 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.
According to FOEN forecasts, the flood situation is likely to ease only slowly. The water level is not expected to fall below the high water mark until Friday.
The Arve in Geneva was also in great danger. The Frutigen - Adelboden cantonal road was also closed after a landslide. Precautionary measures were taken locally due to rising waters.
Rockfall hazard in Valais
Alertswiss warned on X of flooding, landslides and rockfalls in the canton of Valais. Due to the risk of falling rocks, Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn trains were not running on Tuesday afternoon and replacement buses were operating.
A dozen roads in Valais were interrupted by landslides, as reported by the Valais news portal lenouvelliste.ch. The pictures published in the online edition of the Valais newspaper showed a 20-metre drop in the road between Les Valettes and Champex near Orsières. This was an event of exceptional proportions, a road administration official told the newspaper. The road will remain closed to all traffic for two to three months.
According to various weather services, further precipitation is expected in the coming days, especially on the northern slopes of the Alps. It already rained a lot in November: in most areas of Switzerland, precipitation fell almost daily from the 1st to the 25th day of the month. In western Switzerland and the central and eastern midlands, it rained twice as much as usual during the whole month of November, in some cases up to the middle of the month.
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