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
Swiss Politics
In Switzerland, New Year brings ‘burka ban’ and pension hikes
Switzerland adopts EU rules to curb illegal air entry into Schengen
This content was published on
The Swiss government has approved EU rules on sharing passenger information to prevent air passengers from illegally entering the Schengen area.
Swiss skier dies after accident on Bernese Oberland slopes
This content was published on
An 80-year-old Swiss man died on Monday following an accident on a marked piste in the Adelboden-Lenk ski area in the Bernese Oberland.
International and Swiss experts call for new obesity guidelines
This content was published on
A group of global experts, including Swiss doctors, has issued a report calling for a new definition of obesity that goes beyond BMI.
Iran and EU discuss nuclear issues, Russia and the Middle East in Switzerland
This content was published on
After meeting with French, German, and British representatives on Monday, Iran continued its talks with the EU representative in Geneva.
This content was published on
Lucerne-based steelmaker Swiss Steel has confirmed it will cut 130 jobs in Emmenbrücke, despite the emergency aid promised by Switzerland’s parliament.
Swiss SGS and French Bureau Veritas eye $35 billion merger
This content was published on
The Swiss inspection firm SGS has confirmed it is in talks with the French company Bureau Veritas about a potential merger of nearly $35 billion.
European committee raises alarm over police violence in western Switzerland
This content was published on
A Council of Europe committee is concerned about police practices in western Switzerland, citing “allegations of physical mistreatment” against detainees.
WEF: Trump to speak virtually, Zelensky to appear in person
This content was published on
US President-elect Donald Trump will attend this year's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos via video conference. He is scheduled to speak on January 23.
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.