VIDEO: Switzerland Witnesses Floods, Landslides Caused By Heavy Rain (Photo: Screengrab/X)
Zurich: Heavy rains have led to floods and landslides occurring in Switzerland. Three people went missing due to the same in southwestern Switzerland, AFP reported. Emergency services made use of helicopters, drones and rescue dogs to search for the missing persons, the report said.
124 mm of rainfall was reported in Mesolcina valley in the canton of Grisons on Friday, with 63 mm falling in one hour alone, MeteoSchweiz, the government’s office for weather and climate, said.
“It was not the level of rain, but the concentration of rain in such a short period of time which caused the problems,” a spokesman for MeteoSchweiz said. “This concentration of rain happens only once every 30 years.”
Several rivers reportedly burst their banks in the Mesolcina valley, also known as Misox.
According to Grisons police, three houses and three cars were swept away by water in Sorte village, AFP reported.
Initially, four people were reported missing. A woman was later found under the rubble and then taken to the hospital. The search for the other three is still underway. The three could have possibly been in their homes when the flooding took place, the police said.
The road and railway line to the town of Zermatt was closed and five villages were without electricity, AFP reported. The police advised people not to travel to the region.
230 people in the western canton of Valais have been evacuated since Friday after heavy rainfall caused flooding and mudslides in the area.
(With Inputs From AFP)