School in Losone Must Postpone School Start Due to Hail Damage
Published: Saturday, Aug 26th 2023, 14:00
Updated At: Friday, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
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A severe thunderstorm hit the Locarno region on Saturday night. In Losone, hail the size of tennis balls destroyed the skylights of a middle school, causing the start of school to be postponed to Wednesday. Now, heavy rainfall is expected. 112 skylights were destroyed, according to the vice director of the Losone Middle School, Uria Cerini. Water had entered the second floor of the school, and had also seeped into the lower levels. Due to the extensive damage, the regular start of school after the summer holidays was postponed from Monday to Wednesday. For children who would have no care at home from Monday, the school will remain open. Classes will begin at 8am on Wednesday. In the Ronco area, the storm also left its mark. The roof of the Hotel Ronco was described as looking like a Swiss cheese, with numerous windows damaged by hail. More than half of the rooms are currently unusable. With heavy rainfall predicted for Saturday afternoon, the hotel may have to close for a while. The fire department of Locarno was called out 38 times, mostly due to flooded basements. The hail had been thrown through the air with great force. Temporary power outages were reported in the Brissago/Ronco region. Meteoschweiz is predicting between 170 and 240 millimeters of rain in the Ticino region, with the most rain expected between Sunday morning 3am and Monday morning 6am. In higher elevations, thunderstorms are expected. A flood warning has been issued for small and medium-sized rivers, and for the Maggia River in the Maggia Valley between Locarno and Ascona. The Lake Maggiore has been suffering from record low levels for weeks.nnnnnnnnnnnn
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