Switzerland and northern Italy were hit by severe storms, leading to widespread flooding and landslides that resulted in at least four fatalities, authorities reported on Sunday.
In the Fontana area of the Maggia valley in the Ticino canton, three bodies were recovered following a landslide. Camping sites along the Maggia River were cleared, and a section of the Visletto road bridge collapsed. A person was reported missing in the Lavizzara valley.
Further north, the Rhone River overflowed its banks in multiple areas of Valais canton, causing flooding on a highway and a railway line.
In southern Switzerland, particularly heavy rainfall affected side valleys south of the Rhone. A man was found dead in a hotel in Saas-Grund after being reported missing by his partner. Authorities believe he was caught off guard by the flooding. In the Binn area near the Italian border, another man went missing on Saturday evening.
In northern Italy, floods, thunderstorms, and landslides wreaked havoc. Firefighters conducted approximately 80 rescue operations in the Piedmont region, evacuating numerous individuals. Between Montanaro and San Benigno Canavese, two adults and a 3-month-old infant were rescued from their car, which was stranded in rising waters. Several villages in Valle D’Aosta were cut off due to overflowing waterways, storms, and landslides.
