Storms in Switzerland and northern Italy caused widespread flooding and landslides killing at least four people, AP News reported.
Italian authorities reported discovering the bodies of three people after a landslide in the Fontana area of the Maggia valley on Sunday. It lies in the Italian-speaking canton (state) of Ticino on the southern slope of the Alps. Storms and heavy rain also hit southern and western Switzerland on Saturday and overnight.
Camping sites along the Maggia River were evacuated. Part of the small Visletto road bridge reportedly collapsed. One person is missing in the nearby Lavizzara valley.
Further north, the Rhone River overflowed its banks in several areas of the Valais canton. This resulted in the flooding of a highway and a railway line.
Police reported particularly heavy rain in the valleys south of the Rhone, with the body of a man whose partner reported him missing found early Sunday morning at a hotel in the alpine resort of Saas-Grund. Another man had been missing since Saturday evening in the Binn area, in the upper Rhone valley near the Italian border, according to the police report.
Floods, thunderstorms, and landslides also affected various regions of northern Italy. Firefighters stated they carried out about 80 rescue operations, evacuating dozens of people in the northern Piedmont region.
Between Montanaro and San Benigno Canavese, two adults and a three-month-old girl were rescued after rising water from the Orco stream left them trapped in a car, firefighters reported. Several villages also became isolated due to overflowing rivers, storms, and landslides in the Valle D’Aosta region.
