Heavy rain and melting snow cause flooding and landslides in Switzerland

The road between Les Valettes and Champex, near Orsieres in canton Valais, subsided after heavy rain on Tuesday December 12, 2023. © Etat Du Valais / Keystone

Heavy rain and melting snow have caused flood and landslide warnings in Switzerland. Canton Valais and the Jura and Lake Biel regions are badly affected.

The Meteonews service reported on Tuesday that up to 100 litres of rain per square metre had accumulated in affected regions. The heavy precipitation on already humid soil and melting snow have raised the levels of many watercourses. Maximum levels are expected in many places on Thursday.

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The situation is particularly critical in canton Valais, especially on roads, where many incidents have been reported across the southern region.

“The situation is dangerous all over,” Frédéric Favre, the head of the Department of Security, Institutions and Sport, told reporters on Tuesday.

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The authorities are keen to act quickly “in view of the ongoing development of the situation, which could deteriorate over the course of the hours”. 

According to the cantonal engineer Vincent Pellissier, the entire catalogue of natural disasters – flooding, rivers breaking their banks, rockfalls, mudslides and even avalanches – are possible.

“The severity of the situation is exceptional in this period of the year,” Pellissier told the Keystone-ATS news agency, adding that a series of events like this “happens every ten years”. In addition to the rain that is falling above 2,000 metres, recently accumulated snow is also melting, he noted.

The ground is saturated and unstable, especially along the roads. The Valais government said there had been landslides and rockfalls throughout the canton.

Bridges closed in Geneva

In Geneva, the Val d’Arve and Acacias bridges were closed on Tuesday due to the high level of the Arve River. Other bridges risk closing, the police said.

The authorities in canton Vaud are carefully monitoring the level of local rivers and lakes in Orbe, Vallorbe and the Joux Valley. The situation was described as “stable” on Monday morning.

The level of Lake Biel rose steadily on Monday to reach the 430.1-metre mark at 6pm. The lake’s flood level, fixed at 430.35 metres, could be attained on Wednesday.

“The hydrological system is totally saturated,” said the Bern cantonal authorities. However, the current situation does not compare with the serious floods of 1999, 2005, 2007 and 2021. Several landslides have also been reported in the Bernese Oberland region.

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