Importance Score: 65 / 100 🔴
Alps Region Grapples with Heavy Snowfall and Travel Disruption
Heavy snowfall in the Alps has caused significant disruption, leaving the renowned Swiss ski resort of Zermatt isolated and prompting authorities in the French resort of Tignes to advise tourists and residents to remain indoors.
Zermatt Cut Off Amidst Alpine Snowstorms
The popular Swiss destination of Zermatt has been rendered inaccessible due to substantial snowfall. Road and rail links to the resort in the southern canton of Valais are currently severed. Power outages plagued the area throughout Thursday, and mobile network connectivity faced severe interruptions. Reports from Swiss media indicated long queues outside the only supermarket that remained open in the town as residents sought essential supplies.
Avalanche Risk Prompts Precautions in French Alps
In Tignes, France, Mayor Serge Revial highlighted the elevated risk of avalanches following more than a meter of snow accumulation in the town. “We had to make a decision to protect people,” Revial stated, underscoring the preventative measures taken to ensure public safety.
Widespread Disruptions Across the Alps
While April snowfall is not unusual in the Alpine region, the intensity of the recent storms has led to widespread disruptions. Thousands of homes in the Savoie region of eastern France experienced power cuts. In neighbouring Switzerland, key transit routes including the Simplon Pass to Italy and the Great St Bernard Tunnel were closed to vehicular traffic. The cantons of Valais and Bernese Oberland were particularly affected, impacting tourists traveling for ski holidays.
Alerts and Travel Advisories
The Alertswiss app issued warnings regarding the risk of avalanches and falling trees in Valais, further cautioning about major transport disruptions. Schools in the city of Sion were closed for the day as a precautionary measure. Individuals planning to travel to the affected areas for Easter holiday were advised to postpone their journeys until Saturday. Local police urged residents to stay at home unless absolutely necessary.
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
Italy Experiences Power Outages and Flooding
South of Zermatt, extending into north-west Italy, the adverse weather conditions also took a toll. Power outages were reported across 37 municipalities within the Aosta Valley. In Piedmont, a bridge collapsed in Biella. While heavy snow impacted higher altitudes, the primary concern in north-west Italy was torrential rainfall, triggering rivers to overflow. Tragically, a 92-year-old man near Turin is believed to have drowned in the flooding of his residence in Monteu da Po.
River Po Flood Threat
A surge of water swept through the streets of Monteu da Po, a village situated in the hills near the River Po. Red alerts were activated across several valleys, with the most significant apprehension focused on the River Po, where water levels were projected to peak within the subsequent 24 hours.
Extreme Rainfall Levels Recorded
Meteorologists indicated that some areas received over 20cm of rainfall within a 36-hour period, with extreme peaks registering even higher precipitation levels. A Turin resident, Manuela, recounted to the BBC, “It’s been raining non-stop for days, very, very hard, although it’s stopped now.” She further noted the Dora and Po rivers near Turin had burst their banks, leading to the closure of riverside establishments in Turin as a safety precaution, although the city itself remained largely unaffected.