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Swiss resort of Zermatt off-limits due to flooding risk

flood
The Vispa river in flood in Zermatt. Keystone / Claude Volken

Since midday on Friday, it has been impossible to reach Zermatt by either train or by road.

Trains are no longer running between Visp and Zermatt, the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn said in a press release. Trains on the R40, RE41 and RE42 lines have been cancelled due to the risk of flooding. Replacement buses are running between Visp and Täsch.  

The Vispa river rose from its banks on Friday morning. Schools in the tourist village were closed, a local authority employee told Keystone-ATS. According to the Walliser Bote, authorities in Zermatt have been on high alert since Friday morning.  

Valais on alert

The banks of the Rhône and its tributaries in canton Valais and Vaud will be off-limits to the public this weekend due to the risk of flooding. This ban will apply from Friday until Monday evening.

The flow of the Rhône, currently at a high level, is expected to continue rising until it reaches its peak on Friday late afternoon or evening, according to the Valais cantonal flood control authority (OCC), which has been reactivated for the occasion.

+ Read more: Politicians give CHF1 billion to prevent future Rhône flooding

Adapted from French by DeepL/kc/ac

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. 

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