Seven people were killed in powerful storms and torrential rains that hit France, Switzerland and Italy over the weekend, local authorities said on Sunday.
Three people aged in their 70s and 80s were killed in France’s northeastern Aube region on Saturday when a tree crushed their car during strong winds, the local authority told AFP.
The condition of the fourth passenger remains critical, he said.
In neighbouring Switzerland, four people were killed and another was missing, according to local police.
Police in the Italian-speaking province of Ticino said three people were killed in a landslide triggered by torrential rain in the southeast.
A man was also found dead at a hotel in Saas-Grun in southwestern Valais, police said. Police said the man was possibly taken by surprise by the sudden rise of floodwaters.
Another man was also missing in Valais, police said.
Civil protection services said “several hundred” people were evacuated in Valais after the Rhone and its tributaries overflowed in several places and roads were closed.
Emergency services were assessing the best way to evacuate 300 people who had come for a football tournament in Peccia, while about 70 people were being evacuated from a holiday camp in the village of Mogno.
Police had earlier said rescue operations were being made particularly difficult by bad weather, with many valleys impossible to reach and power networks cut off.
The federal alert system also said that a portion of the canton was without drinkable water.
Heavy rainfall also hit south-eastern Switzerland last weekend, killing one person and causing extensive damage.
Internet users in northern Italy’s Aosta Valley shared images of spectacular floods and rivers flowing down mountain slopes.
Scientists say climate change induced by human activities is increasing the severity, frequency and duration of extreme weather events such as floods and storms.
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