Emergency services with helicopters, drones and rescue dogs searched on Saturday for three people who were missing after violent downpours caused floods and landslides in southwestern Switzerland.
MeteoSchweiz, the government's office for weather and climate, said 124 millimeters of rain fell in Mesolcina Valley in the canton of Grisons on Friday, with 63 mm falling in a one-hour period.
On June 21, 2024, heavy rain in southeastern Switzerland triggered floods and landslides, resulting in three people missing. /CFP
"It was not the level of rain, but the concentration of rain in such a short period of time which caused the problems," a spokesman for MeteoSchweiz said.
"This concentration of rain happens only once every 30 years."
The highway A13 between Lostallo and Soazza is seen destroyed by the force of the Moesa River, caused by heavy rain in the Misox Valley, in Lostallo, southern Switzerland, on June 23, 2024. /CFP
Several rivers burst their banks in Mesolcina Valley, also known as Misox, covering roads, fields and villages with rubble, earth and wood.
Three houses and three cars were swept away by water in the village of Sorte, Grisons police said. Two police officers were able to escape from their vehicle, which was submerged up to its roof.
The road and railway line to the town of Zermatt, next to the Matterhorn Mountain, was also closed, although police said they hoped to reopen the routes on Saturday evening.