Violent storms affected a good part of Europe

Europe was hit, especially in the central part, by a series of violent storms and torrential rains. They fell on Switzerland, France, Germany and Italy and resulted in at least 7 deaths, according to the first balance published by the local authorities.

Three elderly people died on Saturday evening in the Aube department, in northeastern France, after a tree fell on the car they were in during a strong storm, according to the local prefecture. The three people were "septuagenarians and octogenarians", and a fourth passenger in the car is in serious condition, the prefecture said. In Switzerland, four people died and another is reported missing after a landslide caused by torrential rains in the south-east of the country, as the police in the canton of Ticino announced on Sunday. A man was found dead in the area of a hotel in Saas-Grund, in the canton of Valais (southwest). He was "probably taken by surprise by the rapid rise of the waters", said the cantonal police. Images published by the news site 20minuten show a portion of the village covered in a thick layer of mud and stones. Another man was reported missing in Valais, police said. In Zermatt, the Vispa river burst its banks again, according to images posted on the X social network, during the night. In the images, muddy waters can be seen flowing through the streets of the famous mountain resort at the foot of the Matterhorn. Heavy rainfall has already caused flooding in the same regions on June 21. The army sent several Super Puma helicopters to Ticino and Valais. Several areas near the Maggia valley are no longer accessible and the power supply has been interrupted. Part of the canton was also left without access to drinking water, according to the Swissalert federal alert system. A large part of Switzerland was affected, starting Saturday afternoon, by violent storms accompanied by particularly heavy rainfall. Last week's bad weather resulted in the death of one person and the disappearance of two others.

Across the border, Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta (northwest) are also experiencing flooding and landslides, but so far no deaths or missing persons have been reported. The Piedmont firefighters announced on Sunday morning that they had carried out 80 rescue operations for people in distress. In Valle d'Aosta, an autonomous region located on the border with France and Switzerland, a landslide temporarily blocked the regional road leading to Cervinia. The torrents caused significant damage in the center of this tourist resort, where several shops were flooded. Also in Valle d'Aosta, a village of 1,300 inhabitants, Cogne, was cut off from the rest of the world after a landslide blocked access roads. On Saturday, the village recorded 90 millimeters of rainfall in six hours. Near Cogne, at Valnontey, the electricity and water supply was interrupted. During the night, a helicopter rescued a family stuck in this locality.

In Switzerland, to the west, the Rhone and several of its tributaries, fed by torrential rains and melting snow, overflowed and led to the evacuation of several hundred people and the closure of several roads, according to local authorities in Valais. There were "spills and leaks of debris (mud and stones, n.r.) along the side watercourses", which led to the closure of traffic in the area of the Simplon Pass, an important road for international and cantonal traffic. "Since the flow of the Rho reached 1,200 m3, the cantonal authorities decided to evacuate the Aigle industrial area as a precaution", located southeast of Lake Geneva (Leman), the officials explained in a statement. In anticipation of the risk of storms, several cantons closed their fan areas as a precaution, depriving thousands of supporters of the Swiss national team of the opportunity to celebrate the 2-0 victory over Italy at the European Football Championship. In Germany, the match Germany - Denmark (2-0) on Saturday night was interrupted for several minutes due to a violent storm accompanied by torrential rain and hail.