Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Thunderstorms keep rescue services busy

Heavy rain and high winds have disturbed traffic, temporarily cut power supplies and flooded hundreds of basements across much of Switzerland.

Police said more than 60 people had to be evacuated by helicopter from a mountain railway in the Bernese Oberland.

Local power cuts and mudslides affected railway connections in several parts of the country.

Rescue services on Lake Lucerne were called to help boats back to the harbours.

The cantonal authorities recorded several hundred cases of flooded basements and streets, as well as uprooted trees and damaged buildings early on Wednesday.

Winds of up to 120km/h and rain of 40 litres/m2 were measured at separate locations in the region between Zurich and Bern.

Meanwhile some 20 people in the village of Schwellbrunn in eastern Switzerland are still waiting for the go-ahead to return home after torrential rains caused flooding on Sunday, putting their houses at risk from landslides. 

More storms, including hail, are expected later this week.

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR