Last Sunday, a debris flow following a torrential downpour swept away a car containing a 37 year old man and a 6 year old child, according to various media.
CLOSE call with a debris flow in Chamoson, Switzerland today, August 11th! Report: Jérémy Monnet / Météo Mettra – Météo Alpes Suisse France pic.twitter.com/iNQH6hMVI9
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) 11 août 2019
The violence of the flow, which occurred in the town of Chamoson in the canton of Valais, can be seen in the video posted on Twitter above.
According to Geneva police, the 37 year old man was from Geneva.
The car and its occupants have not been found and it is unlikely they will be found alive, according to various media sources. It is likely that the car has been swept into the Rhone river.
The speed and intensity of the rain that caused the debris flow was exceptional meteorologist Daniel Masotti told the newspaper Le Matin. Masotti has never seen anything of this intensity in the region before. The rain that caused the flow was equivalent to 461mm per hour, almost the annual rainfall for the region.
Two other cars may have been caught in the debris flow according to RTS.
In August last year a similar debris flow struck the same region.
More on this:
Le Matin article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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