The Graubünden cantonal police take stock of the situation regarding the flood that hit Mesolcina and the rescue and clearance operations currently underway.
As the hours pass it is time for the first assessments in Mesolcina. After this morning’s press conference, the cantonal police have now made another point of the situation. Three people, we remember, are still missing. Meanwhile, another meeting with the media has been called for tomorrow afternoon. Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis, the President of the Rhaetian Government Jon Domenic Parolini and the President of the Ticino Council of State Christian Vitta will also be present in Roveredo.
The A13 motorway and the H13 Italian road were closed between San Vittore and the north portal of the San Bernardino tunnel. Access from the north towards Roveredo is currently not possible due to the closed road. Val Calanca, writes the Rhaetian Cantonal Police, will be accessible again starting from 1pm tomorrow. According to information from the cantonal civil engineering office, the other roads in the damage area will not be opened until Sunday evening. While as regards the A13, the cantonal police explained to Blick that this could remain unusable “for months”.
Several dozen residents were evacuated from their homes during the night due to the storm, but already this morning most of them were able to return to their homes.
On Friday evening, after 6.00 pm, a massive flood occurred in Mesolcina due to the heavy rains and thunderstorms that hit the region. This situation, the Police writes, led several streams to break their banks, covering the streets and several villages in the area with debris. In the village of Sorte, three houses and three vehicles were swept away by the waters and two police officers managed to get out of the vehicle which was immersed in water up to the roof, thus swimming to safety.
Several emergency services and construction companies have been working on rescue and clean-up operations since the early hours of Friday evening. Of the four people initially missing, one was recovered and transported by helicopter to Lugano hospital. The search for the other three missing people is underway. It is possible that these people were in their homes at the time of the storm and were overwhelmed by the flood. The clean-up operations are in full swing. The list of all emergency services employed will be provided in a future communication.
Due to the extensive damage in the region, the population is asked not to enter the damaged areas, not to undertake unnecessary journeys with vehicles and therefore not to hinder the damage restoration work.
