Rescuers search for 3 missing after floods – DW – 06/23/2024

Three people were missing in Switzerland on Sunday after violent storms hit the south of the country.

Dozens of people have been evacuated due to a landslide in the Mesocco and Calanca valleys in the southeast of the canton of Graubünden.

The houses of the missing were destroyed during the landslide in Mesocco. The streets of the village were flooded, according to the cantonal police.

Another woman had been reported missing but was found Saturday morning.

A section of around 200 meters of the A13 motorway towards Italy was destroyed.

Swiss President Viola Amherd said she was shocked by the extent of the damage.

“My thoughts are with those affected. I thank the emergency personnel for their tireless efforts in this difficult situation,” Amherd said on X.

Trains resume in Zermatt, after ski resort was briefly cut off by floodwaters

Trains have started running in the town of Zermatt, in the southwest of the canton of Valais, after rail traffic was interrupted for more than 24 hours.

Schools had also been closed in the city.

Zermatt is located near the Matterhorn, a popular tourist destination.

The railway line and the road leading to the town were temporarily blocked due to flooding.

The Vispa river, upstream of the Rhône which crosses the canton, has burst its banks. Authorities have declared a state of emergency for the Rhône and several of its tributaries.

The Swiss news agency SDA quoted Marie-Claude Noth-Ecoeur, head of the Valais branch of Civil Protection, as saying that 230 people were forced to leave their homes on Friday evening.

More than 200 firefighters and 50 civil protection agents participated in the rescue operations, she said.

sdi/rm (dpa, AFP)