You can also listen to the article in audio version.
Prolonged heat, which rose to 35 degrees, and subsequent storms with heavy rainfall hit Switzerland, causing floods and mudslides. Over 20 flights had to be diverted at Zurich airport. The authorities evacuated 70 people because their houses were threatened by flooding, the DPA agency reports today.
The worst affected area is around the town of Brienz in the canton of Bern in eastern Switzerland, where water washed away cars parked on the road and flooded the railway station. Train and boat connections to Brienz remain suspended for the time being. Around Lake Brienz, several storms formed at once, and meteorologists counted over 70,000 lightning strikes overnight.
Also, the area around the village of Grindelwald is still only accessible to a limited extent. Landslides and mudslides have blocked the road between Zweilütschinen and Grindelwald, the rail connection between these cities is also interrupted. In central Switzerland, near Lake Lucerne, a piece of the rock massif along which the southern path around the lake runs. The authorities do not register any injured or missing persons.
