The Jura village of Buix flooded after major storms
© RTSinfoThe Jura village of Buix flooded after major storms
Torrential rain, thunderstorms and flash floods have inundated towns and villages, especially in parts of northwest, central and eastern Switzerland in recent days.

Heavy rain over the past few days has caused damage to homes and infrastructure in cantons Solothurn, Aargau and Basel-Country, with numerous cellars and roads flooded. The police and fire services were called out 400 times in Aargau alone, and in several areas civil protection volunteers were out in force. In the town of Stetten 60 millimetres of rain fell in three hours.

Rail services were affected between Lenzburg and Othmarsingen on the Zurich-Aargau line. In Oftringen a barn was set ablaze after being struck by lightning but no one was injured. On Wednesday afternoon the A1 motorway was flooded near Lenzburg causing tailbacks for over an hour.


The village of Buix suffered on Tuesday.
© Laurent Blanchard/Canal Alpha The village of Buix suffered on Tuesday.

Whole streets were transformed veritable Lakes Landscapes
Whole streets were transformed veritable lakes landscapes
In cantons Basel Country and Basel City in northwest Switzerland the police and fire services received 400 calls for help as streams and rivers overflowed. Several local roads were inundated, as well as the A2 and A3 motorways near Pratteln, Liestal and Augst. A cantonal insurance firm estimates several million Swiss francs worth of damage.

In Augst the highway was flooded .
In Augst the highway was flooded .
The Solothurn police received 110 calls for help, mostly due to flooded cellars and small landslides.

In central Switzerland the region between Bern and Chiètres in canton Fribourg was badly hit by torrential rain. Trains on the Bern-Neuchâtel and Bern Brünnen Westside and Chiètres were delayed.

In Zurich and Fribourg 58 millimetres of rain fell in 12 hours.

French-speaking Switzerland has generally escaped the heavy rains and flooding. The MeteoSwiss weather service warns, however, that the entire Jura region could witness violent storms and floods similar to those on Tuesday, which caused power shortages in canton Basel Country and the closure of the Transjurane (A16) motorway.

A violent storm hit Geneva on Wednesday afternoon causing a large tree to fall across the 12 tram line, delaying traffic. No injuries were reported.