Europe’s deadly storms: At least seven killed as torrential rain lashes Italy, France and Switzerland with a hotel guest drowning in flash floods, three swept away in a landslide and drivers crushed by trees

The torrential downpours that have battered Italy, France and Switzerland have left at least seven people dead.

Three people died after heavy rains triggered a landslide in southeastern Switzerland, police in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino said on Sunday.

Elsewhere in Switzerland, a man was found dead in a hotel in Saas-Grund in the southwest canton of Valais, with police saying that he was probably taken by surprise by a sudden rapid rise in floodwater.

In France, three people in their 70s and 80s died in the northeastern Aube region on Saturday when a falling tree crushed the car they were travelling in, the local authority said. A fourth passenger was in critical care, it added. 

Meanwhile the Noaschetta river near Turin, in northern Italy, burst its banks after more than seven inches of rain fell and unleashed a ‘water bomb’ on the town of Noasca causing the access bridge to be flooded and the main road to be closed.

Cars inside the rubble from a landslide caused by severe weather following storms that caused flooding and landslide in Saas-Grund, canton of Valais, Switzerland, June 30

This photograph on June 28 shows damages of the village following a devastating flood of the river Veneon on June 21 in the hamlet of La Berarde in the French Alps

An aerial picture taken on June 30, 2024 shows the A9 motorway A9 partially flooded near Sierre, western Switzerland

Buildings stand amid the rubble from a landslide following storms that caused major flooding in Saas-Grund, in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, June 30

In the Lanzo Valleys, north-west Italy, it has been raining most of Sunday, which caused the Stura River to swell above safe levels, according to the Lastampa news site.

And in Lago della Torre, several landslides occurred and a shepherd was stuck at about 150 meters above sea level before being heroically rescued by firefighters.

Seven families who were at risk in two buildings near the Vassola stream had to be evacuated after it turned into a raging torrent.

Switzerland’s civil security services said ‘several hundred’ people were evacuated in the southern canton of Valais and roads closed after the Rhone and its tributaries overflowed in different locations. 

A man has been missing in the Binn area in the upper Rhone valley in Valais close to the Italian border since Saturday evening, police said. 

Pictures from the area show parts of Saas-Grund covered in thick layers of mud and rocks after a man was killed in a hotel there.

The situation in Valais was ‘under control’ on Sunday, Frederic Favre, the official responsible for civil security, told a press conference, but he warned that it would remain ‘fragile’ for the next several days.

Pictured above is the ‘water bomb’ that reigned down on the northern Italian town of Noasca

ebris from a roof damaged by a whirlwind in Busano Canavese, near Turin, Italy, June 30

Railway tracks and roads were submerged after heavy flooding in the Valais area of Switzerland

The aftermath of Cervinia – an Alpine resort in the Valle d’Aosta region of northwest Italy

The floods in Cervinia, Valle d’Aosta, due to heavy rainfall on the weekend

Pictures from Sierre, Switzerland, show major flooding and a submerged motorway after The Rhone River overflowed following huge storms. 

Emergency services were assessing the best way to evacuate 300 people who had arrived for a football tournament in the mountain town of Peccia, while almost 70 more were being evacuated from a holiday camp in the village of Mogno.

The poor weather was making rescue work particularly difficult, police had said earlier, with several valleys in the southern cantons of Ticino and Valais near the border with Italy, inaccessible and cut off from the electricity network.

In Ticino, some 400 people – including 40 children from a holiday camp – had to be evacuated from risk areas and taken to civil protection centres.

The federal alert system also said part of the canton was without drinking water.

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who is from Ticino, said the repeated disasters ‘have touched us deeply’.

It’s the worst flooding experienced in the canton since 2000 when 13 people were killed in a mudslide which destroyed the village of Gondo.

The fields and roads which were left underwater after the Secchia river in Modena, northern Italy, flooded from the heavy rainfall

The Rhone River in Sierre is overflowing the A9 motorway following storms in Europe

Rhone River overflows the street following storms in Sierre, Switzerland

An aerial view of an area affected by the flood of the Secchia river in Modena, northern Italy, on June 25

The flooding in Noasca, Italy is seen above with raging water flooding the roads

Pictured is the flooding in Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta in Italy after hours of rain

A resident works to clean an area damaged by flooding in Chialamberto, Lanzo Valley, near Turin, Italy, June 30

Groundsman work to clear water after play is suspended due to adverse weather conditions at the euros clash between Germany and Denmark on June 29

In northern Italy, Piedmont and the Aosta Valley also suffered flooding and mudslides, though no deaths were reported. 

Firefighters in Piedmont announced Sunday morning that they had carried out 80 operations to rescue people in difficulty following floods and mudslides in the region. 

A mudslide temporarily blocked a regional road to the ski resort of Cervinia in the Aosta Valley, a semi-autonomous region located along the border with France and Switzerland.

A river which burst its banks caused significant damage to the centre of the town where several streets were flooded.

A mudslide blocked access to Cogne, a village of 1,300 people in the Aosta Valley, where four inches of rainfall was recorded in a six-hour period on Saturday. 

At the European football championships in Germany, a match between Germany and Denmark Saturday evening was interrupted for almost half an hour because of heavy rain and lighting.

A volunteer tries to extinguish a wildfire burning in Stamata, near Athens, Greece, June 30

Flames rise next to a football stadium as a wildfire burns in Stamata, near Athens, Greece, June 30

Firemen and helicopters try to control a large wildfire in Keratea. Many homes were evacuated and houses were burnt during the wildfire that took place in Keratea, an area south of Athens

Smoke rises from a destroyed house as a wildfire burns in Keratea, near Athens, Greece, June 30

Across Lake Garda, Emilia-Romagna and Parma, heavy rainfall saw cars swept away, and entire streets and residential districts left underwater.

A thunderstorm near the town of Rovigo in Veneto fell victim to a tornado which tore through the area, tearing off roofs and uprooting trees.

Scientists say climate change driven by human activity is increasing the severity, frequency and length of extreme weather events such as floods and storms, but also heatwaves.

In Greece, two large wildfires were burning on Sunday near the capital of Athens, and authorities sent emergency messages for some residents to evacuate the area and others to stay at home and close their windows to protect themselves from smoke.

The first blaze, south east of Athens, began in early afternoon. Local authorities said it burned at least four homes and several cars. No casualties were reported by 6pm.

The blaze was approaching the port of Lavrio about 37 miles south-east of Athens. The area has suffered from wildfires in recent years. A small forest to the south, near Cape Sounio, also could be in danger.

A second, fast-moving fire later began north of Athens near the suburb of Stamata. It was burning through scrubland and forest and moving up the 3,600ft Mount Penteli, one of four mountains ringing the capital area.

Flames rise next to a house as a wildfire burns in Keratea, near Athens, Greece, June 30

Firefighters arrive to extinguish a wildfire burning in Stamata, near Athens, Greece, June 30

A volunteer stands on a roof as flames rise from a wildfire burning in Stamata, near Athens, Greece, June 30

A firefighting helicopter flies over a firefighter and volunteers trying to extinguish a wildfire burning in Keratea, near Athens, Greece, June 30

A firefighter and volunteers try to extinguish a wildfire burning in Stamata, near Athens, Greece, June 30

A total of 230 firefighters, 17 planes and 12 helicopters were trying to put out both fires, the Fire Service said. The planes and helicopters can only operate in daylight.

Hot and dry weather, combined with strong winds, are helping spread the fires. Temperatures in the low 30s Celsius are expected to rise on Monday and Tuesday.

More than 40 people died in Algeria, Italy and Greece last year due to the extreme weather.

After last summer’s deadly forest fires and following its warmest winter on record, Greece developed a new doctrine, which includes deploying an extra fire truck to each new blaze, speeding up air support and clearing forests.

A big part of Mount Parnitha’s nature reserve, full of pines and fir trees, was destroyed by a large fire in 2007.