Heavy rainfall and avalanche warnings grip southern Switzerland
Over 100 millimetres of rain has fallen in the higher regions of Ticino and on the Simplon Pass since Friday night. The weather service Meteonews predicted that the same amount of rain could fall again in the south of Switzerland by Easter Monday.
KEYSTONE
Since Friday night, over 100 millimetres of rainfall have inundated the higher terrains of Ticino and the Simplon Pass, with forecasts suggesting a continuation of downpours in the region until Easter Monday, according to weather service MeteoNews.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
The Robiei Ticino measuring station, situated nearly 1,900 metres above sea level, registered the highest precipitation, tallying 115 millimetres from midnight on March 29, to 7am on Easter morning, MeteoNews reported on Sunday.
In the Bosco and Gurin municipalities of canton Ticino, precipitation levels soared to 113 millimetres, while Simplon-Dorf Valais saw 103 millimetres. Airolo Ticino experienced 82 millimetres, followed by 62 millimetres in Locarno-Monti.
The onset of snowfall at higher elevations prompted federal authorities to issue avalanche warnings on Easter Sunday for Alpine valleys in Ticino, Valais, and parts of Graubünden. Numerous other valleys also face a considerable risk of avalanches.
Despite the deluge, Switzerland remains relatively spared from flooding risks, as indicated by the federal government’s natural hazards portal.
Transport disruptions amidst severe weather
Easter Sunday witnessed disruptions across various transportation routes due to adverse weather conditions. Rail services in the Jungfrau region were halted due to strong winds, while the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway announced the closure of the Andermatt Uri to Tschamut-Selva Graubünden line for the day. In the Saas Valley Valais, the main road between Stalden and Saas-Grund remained shuttered on Sunday morning due to avalanche hazards. Authorities aimed to provide updates on the duration of the closure by midday.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
First large-scale alpine solar plant approved in Switzerland
This content was published on
The approval was met with satisfaction by the project's organisers, but it also brings with it a certain amount of pressure.
Medieval squirrels may have ‘helped spread leprosy’
This content was published on
An examination of squirrel remains in the United Kingdom has opened up interesting questions and possibilities in terms of the history of the disease.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
This content was published on
The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
This content was published on
The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
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.