Thunderstorms Lead to Tens of Thousands of Lightning Strikes and Hail Damage
Published: Thursday, Jul 13th 2023, 16:00
Updated At: Friday, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
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The last few days have seen severe thunderstorms and hail damage across Switzerland. Between Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning, 95,000 lightning strikes were recorded, more than the entire month of July last year. The canton of Zurich was the most affected, with 13,527 lightning strikes recorded in the 36-hour period. Lugano had the most rainfall with 65 millimetres, followed by Lucerne with 58 millimetres. A woman in Villars-sur-Glâne was struck by lightning and seriously injured. In Seewen, a lightning strike damaged the top two floors of a house, but the five people inside were able to evacuate safely. Two houses in Epalinges and Blonay were also struck by lightning and had to be evacuated. In the harbour of Zug, a boat filled with water and sank, and the boat driver was able to swim to shore. In Immensee, a boat sank after filling with water. In Bern, many cars were damaged by hail, and the AXA will open a hail drive-in to assess the damage. Several tram lines were flooded and had to be shut down. In Basel, 50 trees were felled by the storm, and over 200 trees were partially damaged. In the cantons of Aargau and Zug, dozens of cellars were flooded.
©Keystone/SDA
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