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Storms end run of hot weather

Heavy rain and storm winds swept across Switzerland on Tuesday, leaving one person dead and disrupting traffic in several places.

A man died in the eastern canton of Thurgau, crushed in his car when a tree fell on it, the local police said. In the central city of Lucerne a woman suffered moderate injuries in a similar accident.

Another tree fell onto the power line of a local railway in the Emmental, and trains had to be diverted. In the city of Zurich a number of trams were cancelled as streets were closed.

Police in several cantons were called to flooded cellars and underpasses.

Some areas also experienced hailstorms, with the Bernese Oberland reporting the most damage, according to the Swiss hail insurance organisation.

The Swiss meteorological service, MeteoSwiss, said the storms had started in southwestern Switzerland at about 1230, and moved first northwards, and then eastwards. Some places had had up to 20 litres of rain per square metre, and winds of up to 121 km/hr had been registered.

MeteoSwiss warned that more rain is on its way, and the temperature will drop further.

The storms follow three days of unusually hot weather. On Monday the temperature was 32 degrees on the Swiss plateau; by Wednesday afternoon it is expected to fall to 18.

swissinfo.ch with agencies

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