The Arve, a river that flows through Geneva and into the Rhône, experienced its highest volumetric flow ever recorded on Wednesday morning. “We have exceeded 1,000 cubic metres per second”, said Lieutenant Nicolas Millot, spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Service (SIS).
The situation has prompted the authorities to close five of the eight bridges spanning the river in the canton of Geneva. These closures are causing major disruption to traffic. Public transport is also affected, with trams no longer able to cross from one bank to the other.
As of Wednesday morning, no significant damage had been reported. Around a hundred firefighters are on standby, ready to intervene in the event of the river overflowing its banks. In some critical places, where the Arve is within a few centimetres of the pavement, flood protection barriers are in place, as well as planks along the railings.
The bridges are not expected to be reopened before midday, according to Geneva police spokesman Alexandre Brahier.
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. You can find them here.
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.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Life & Aging
Zurich: how the world capital of housing shortages is tackling the problem
In Switzerland more people are being referred to electrical therapies or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Are there similar approaches where you live?
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
Lufthansa set to abolish in-flight sales, SWISS to keep them
This content was published on
Perfumes, cigarettes, sunglasses: The German airline Lufthansa will no longer sell these products on long-haul flights in future. Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss is sticking to in-flight sales for the time being.
This content was published on
After a short break due to the cool weather, grass pollen is now flying in Switzerland, the Swiss Allergy Centre said on Monday.
This content was published on
Researchers have shown for the first time in Switzerland that urban greenery measurably reduces the stress levels of city dwellers.
US tariffs affect canton Zurich less than other locations
This content was published on
The Zurich cantonal government is observing the developments surrounding the US tariffs "with concern". Compared to other locations, however, Zurich should get off lightly.
This content was published on
The Alpine Museum in Bern is showing the finds of diver David Godio, who has been fishing lost objects out of the River Aare for years.
This content was published on
Healthcare costs in Switzerland rose by 2.4% in 2023. The Swiss healthcare system thus cost around CHF94 billion ($113 billion).
Karaoke tram to run through Basel during Eurovision
This content was published on
A karaoke tram will be doing the rounds in Basel during the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). During a 90-minute journey, guests can sing and dance for free in a vintage car.
Net wealth of Swiss households rises to CHF4.8 trillion
This content was published on
Private household assets in Switzerland continued to grow strongly in 2024. The increase was driven by both the growth in financial assets and higher property assets.
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.