Today's Edition
ROME/GENEVA (dpa)
Severe rains have caused disruptions across northern Italy and southern Switzerland, with a popular Swiss ski resort cut off amid heavy snowfall.
Several rivers in the north of Italy have burst their banks following heavy rains in the region, and authorities have closed off areas and roads near rivers.
The north-western Piedmont region with its capital Turin has been badly affected, with appeals issued to the local population to stay at home.
Flooded tracks led to severe delays in train services between Italy and Switzerland, the Italian rail company reported. Several trains were stranded along the route.
Swiss authorities warned of strong winds, flooding and landslides. Areas that usually draw large numbers of visitors over the Easter holiday, such as South Tyrol in the northeast, Lombardy in the north and Tuscany further south have also been affected.
Zermatt Cut off
In south-western Switzerland, heavy snow and rain have impacted transport routes and caused power outages, authorities said.
A tourism official said that Zermatt, a popular alpine skiing resort in the south of the country on the border with Italy, was cut off. Electricity and mobile phone services are out, the official said.
Some 58 centimetres of fresh snow have fallen in the region, according to a nearby measuring station, with 100 centimetres recorded on the Great St Bernard Pass to the south-west of Zermatt.
Authorities in Sitten, the capital of Valais canton, closed off all roads to cars and pedestrians and called on people to stay at home. Schools were closed for the day.
The Keystone-SDA news agency also reported disruption from snow and rain in Bern canton in the centre of the country.
Authorities in Valais, Bern and Ticino put out an avalanche warning at the second-highest level, and the MeteoSchweiz weather office reported "moderate" danger of high water levels on the Rhône River and Lake Maggiore located on the Swiss-Italian border.
The severe weather would continue into Thursday afternoon, MeteoSchweiz forecast.
