- The Rhine partially burst its banks between Diepoldsau SG and the mouth of Lake Constance.
- So far there has been no damage, said a spokesman for the International Rhine Regulation.
- In the canton of Ticino, the water masses have caused damage, especially in the north. Flooded basements and cars damaged by falling rocks continue to keep people at bay.
- In several Ticino communities, the federal government warned of contamination of drinking water.
According to the Rhine regulation, the peak of the flood is expected at 8:00 p.m. The Rhine foreland from Kriessern/Mäder (SG) below the customs office bridge is closed to Lake Constance. As the cantonal police in St. Gallen announced, only a few fire brigade operations had to be carried out so far.
Also upstream in Graubünden near Domat-Ems in the canton of Graubünden, according to SRF Meteo, the level of the Rhine was at warning level 3 early Monday morning, i.e. considerable danger.
According to SRF Meteo, one problem is the limit of snowfall above 3000 meters. Almost all of the weekend’s precipitation flowed into the rivers.
In Ticino, the situation is particularly precarious in the north of the canton. More than 360 millimeters of rain fell in Biasca from Saturday noon until early Monday morning.
In addition to the Biasca region, the area around Locarno, the Valmaggia region, the Verzasca valley and the Riviera are also affected by the severe storms: There have been severe hailstorms in Locarno since Friday. However, the storm front is now slowly weakening.
The list of damages from the violent thunderstorms and rains of the last few days in Ticino is long, as SRF Ticino correspondent Karoline Thürkauf reports. In addition to body damage to cars and flooded basements, there were also small landslides that cut off two valleys near Biasca.
Some communities are currently without drinking water because the water pipes were damaged by the storm. The rivers are flooded and threaten to burst their banks. Since the soil is saturated, the risk of flooding and landslides is increasing in many places.
As the cantonal police in Ticino announced, the road in Bleniotal is closed due to the risk of flooding. Because a brook threatened to burst its banks, the road from Loderio near Biasca had to be closed.
In the Biasca area, fires broke out more than 30 times on Sunday alone due to flooding. Since the hailstorm on Friday, with hailstones the size of tennis balls, not only damaged homes but also schools, classes in Losone and Locarno will not start until Wednesday for some of the pupils after the long summer holidays.
Graubünden and Glarnerland are also affected
There is also an exceptional amount of rain in the canton of Graubünden. As videos on social media from Sunday show, the Hinterrhein in the Rofla Gorge currently carries a lot of water.
In the canton of Glarus, the situation came to a head around Schwanden on Sunday. According to authorities, the ground was heavily swollen. In the slide area of the Wagenrunse, the potential for danger is increasing because surface water is now draining away. Therefore, the complete closure and evacuation in the slide area of the Wagenrunse will remain in place until at least Tuesday afternoon.
There is a risk of landslides and mudslides
Meteorologists had already warned on Saturday of storms and enormous amounts of rain in Ticino and Graubünden as well as in the mountainous areas of central and eastern Switzerland – in the south the continuous rain would also be intensified by thunderstorms.
The federal government has recommended avoiding the banks of rivers and lakes as well as steep slopes. Because of possible debris flows, areas around streams in the mountains are currently very dangerous. Debris flows could break out without warning and would have “enormous potential for destruction”.