Evacuees and injured in Brienz

After a hot day with temperatures reaching 36 degrees, severe thunderstorms hit the northern side of the Alps on Monday evening. Heavy rains caused mudslides and flooding in the Bernese Oberland, Aargau and central Switzerland.

Brienz in the Bernese Oberland was particularly affected by the storm. On Tuesday morning, the extent of the damage was evident in the village: streets and railways were flooded, cars were destroyed and many areas were filled with driftwood.

On Monday, 70 people were evacuated from their homes in Brienz. Most were staying in private accommodation, Mayor Peter Zumbrunn said at a media conference on Tuesday morning. Two people were injured and no one was missing.

On Tuesday, the Federal Office for Civil Protection warned of new thunderstorms in canton Bern. As a result, particularly strong thunderstorms are expected in Lower Simmental and Frutigen-Künthal on Wednesday evening.

A race against time

On Monday evening, the Milibach River overflowed after heavy rains in Brienz, flooding parts of the village. As large amounts of water, rubble, boulders and driftwood entered the settlement, damaging buildings, cars and roads.

The fire department, Rega, the Bern cantonal paramedic team and the cantonal police were all involved.

The city government has declared the Brienz-Anderdorf area a danger zone and closed it until further notice. Access to the area is limited to clean-up work. Civilians are not allowed.

It is not possible to drive through Brienz, the streets are closed. The Brienz-Rothoorn railway is out of service due to track damage. Rail and ship connections are also disrupted. Replacement buses run between Brienz and Interlaken.

Mayor Zumbrun told a media conference that experts were working to document the damage to buildings. It was not yet clear when residents would be able to return to their homes. New thunderstorms were announced for Brienz on Tuesday evening. “The time to implement these measures is very short,” said Mayor Zumbrun.

Tourists spend the night at the sports center

Other parts of the Bernese Oberland also suffered serious damage from heavy rain and high winds. Based on initial forecasts, Bern’s building insurance company estimated the damage at between 25 and 30 million francs. So far, 200 damages have been reported, she said on Tuesday. Most of the damaged buildings are in the communities of Brienz, Leissigen, Unterseen and Interlaken. The insurance company expects to receive 1,000 damage reports in total.

The train route between Interlaken and Meiringen is impassable due to storm damage, with replacement buses running. Delays or occasional cancellations are expected between Spiez and Interlaken Ost. Disruptions are expected to last until Tuesday evening, SBB wrote.

Sometimes Grindelwald can only be reached by cable car or rack railway. Due to landslides, the main road between Interlaken and Grindelwald is impassable. A side street has now reopened. As announced by Jungfrau Railways, disruptions to the railway line between Grindelwald and Zweilütschnin are expected to continue until Friday. Water and fallen trees have damaged the tracks and overhead lines.

Mayor Buch said that more than 250 tourists were trapped in Grindelwald on Monday night. The city government accommodated tourists in places such as sports centers and spent the night there. Buch said some tourists did not understand the measure. “But we did what we could.”

Boats capsized and streets flooded

Central Switzerland, Zurich and parts of eastern Switzerland were also hit by heavy rain and hail. MeteoSwiss reported about 70,000 lightning strikes across Switzerland between Monday afternoon and early Tuesday morning.

The storm affected air traffic at Zurich Airport: several flights were delayed for several hours. In canton Aargau, the fire brigade was dispatched 150 times. Several roads had to be closed due to landslides.

On Monday evening, Lucerne police received 50 emergency calls in two hours, while canton Zug received 20 reports. Trees fell on the streets, boats capsized and water flooded cellars. No one was injured, according to the authorities.

In canton Uri, rockfalls and mudslides occurred above Axenstrasse between Flüelen and Sisikon. The Federal Roads Office (Astra) wrote that according to preliminary findings, the road was not damaged. On Tuesday afternoon, Astra partially reopened Axenstrasse.