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The low “Brigitte” brought heavy rains in the south and foehn with hurricane gusts in the north over Switzerland on Saturday. In the canton of Uri in particular, the flood situation worsened in the course of the morning.
On Saturday night it rained heavily. As a result, the Reuss overflows its banks near Seedorf in the canton of Uri, as the following video shows:
According to the Uri canton police, the Reuss flood alarm was activated in Seedorf at midnight. Since then, various fire departments in the canton of Uri have been busy protecting buildings from floods, repairing storm and water damage and putting barriers into operation. The situation had worsened again on Saturday morning after a temporary improvement. The Reuss flooded its banks in various places between Attinghausen and Flüelen. Thanks to the flood concept, which was quickly implemented, it was possible to largely prevent damage to buildings. Investments in flood protection have proven to be very effective, said the Uri canton police. No one was injured. According to Manuela Hobi, media spokesperson for the Uri canton police, this flood is roughly comparable to what happened in 1987. The flood was directed on the A2 motorway so that it did not flow into the Reuss. According to the Uri canton police, the plan worked.
A2 motorway closed
Police blocked the A2 motorway between Beckenried and Erstfeld in both directions. The road was under water. Transit traffic was diverted onto A13, San Bernardino.
The motorway service station on the St. Gotthard route and the heavy traffic hub in Erstfeld had to be evacuated on Saturday night. There were the
120 truck drivers woke up and asked to continue their journey in consultation with the cantonal police of Ticino.
Due to the highway closure, the cantonal roads between Flüelen and Erstfeld were overloaded. The police strongly recommended driving through the canton of Uri. The cantonal road between Hospental and Realp was also closed. All Uri Alpine passes must remain closed until at least Sunday morning. In the other cantons of central Switzerland, however, the weather situation remained calm, as a survey by the cantonal police showed.
There were also inconveniences in the rail traffic early in the morning on Saturday. The Furka car transport company had to cease operations because a landslide spilled the road between Realp and Hospental.
Landslide at Engelberg
According to Obwalden Canton Police, there has been minor storm damage in Engelberg. Falling trees would have clogged some smaller back roads. The fire department had to move to Engelberg because a stream had overflowed. But they are “trifles”, as the police say. There were no problems in the cantons of Lucerne and Zug. The cantonal police confirm to this newspaper that one has not yet been affected by the damage caused by the heavy rains.
