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Switzerland: Heavy Rainfall Causes Floods & Landslides; Temporarily Disrupts Rail Services In Zermatt

Due to severe rainfall, rail services were temporarily disrupted in Zermatt and parts of Misox Valley were buried in landslide rubble.

by Tashika Tyagi
Switzerland: Heavy Rainfall Causes Floods & Landslides; Temporarily Disrupts Rail Services In Zermatt

Violent downpours over Switzerland have led to floods and landslides in the country. The heavy rainfall started on June 21 and has since brought many parts of the country to a standstill. The MeteoSwiss, Switzerland’s Meteorology and Climatology department, has forecasted more landslides in the upcoming days as the flood risk persists. The heavy rainfall temporarily shut down rail services for Zermatt and buried part of Misox Valley in landslide rubble.

Heavy Rain Triggers Floods & Landslides In Switzerland

Since June 21, Switzerland has been on alert after heavy rainfall caused floods and landslides across different parts of the country. As per the latest update by MeteoSwiss, there can be more landslides in the upcoming days as the flood risk persists. It has been reported that heavily saturated soil is not able to properly absorb more rain which can trigger more landslides.

Many videos and pictures on X (formerly Twitter) show how this flood in Switzerland is affecting the country. Overflowing rivers, collapsed motorways, and rubbles buried Misox Valley, you can see the horrors of these floods on social media.

A report in Hindustan Times also showed that the highway A13 between Lostallo and Soazza had been destroyed by the force of the Moesa River. This was due to the heavy rain in the Misox Valley in southern Switzerland on June 23. As per Reuters, several rivers burst their banks and ended up covering roads, fields, and villages with rubble, earth and wood in the valley.

That’s not all, the heavy downpour also temporarily affected the rail services to Zermatt. This popular tourist destination was cut off from the rest of the country for a while before services began again on Saturday.

Also Read: Sikkim Landslides Update: 79 Of 1,200 Tourists Evacuated & Moved To Mangan Town; Were Stranded For Days After Torrential Rains

Travel Alert Issued As More Landslides Expected Due To Flood Risk

A travel alert has been issued in Switzerland due to the floods and landslides. The heavy rainfall has caused widespread damage across the country that has severely affected transportation to various popular destinations like Zermatt and Misox Valley.

So far, 3 people have been reported missing and one dead due to these floods. The Swiss authorities have deployed Swiss Army personnel to search for missing people and evacuate others. They have carried out several operations with helicopters, drones, and rescue dogs to find the missing people since Saturday.

Just a couple of weeks back, Germany also experienced heavy flooding after persistent rainfall. The heavy downpour there severely disrupted rail services and shipping routes on key Rhine and Danube shipping routes.

This calamity is quite concerning and disheartening. We hope that the Swiss authorities are able to find the missing people soon.

Cover Image Courtesy: X/DDNewslive

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First Published: June 24, 2024 11:34 AM