La Chaux-de-Fonds storm damage estimated at CHF90 million
A violent storm that killed one person and injured around 40 in the Swiss town of La Chaux-de-Fonds will cost between CHF70 million and CHF90 million ($81-104 million) in repairs to infrastructure.
Strong gusts of wind of up to 217km/h tore roofs from buildings and uprooted trees in the western canton of Neuchâtel on Tuesday.
+ Storms caused ten times less damage in Switzerland in 2022
Some 4,000-5,000 buildings and 1,000 vehicles were damaged in La Chaux-de-Fonds along with 1,600 hectares of forest in the surrounding region.
The one fatality was caused by a crane being blown over onto a person in the town.
The clear-up operation is well underway involving 375 personnel. Around 30 households in the town were left without electricity or running water.
The Swiss meteorological service is still assessing the storm data and cannot yet confirm whether the wind speed broke the previous 190km/h record measured in Glarus in 1985.
MeteoSwiss says the wind pattern looks more like a downburst of air than a tornado, which is a swirling column of air extending from the clouds to the ground.
Downbursts are caused by a sudden cooling of air which drops violently to the ground before dispersing in many directions.
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