One dead in floods in Switzerland: Alpine resort Zermatt cut off from the outside world

The body of a man has been found after three people went missing when floodwaters swept through the southeastern Swiss town of Misox in the Graubünden alpine valley – also known as Grisons.

A severe thunderstorm on Friday evening caused rivers to overflow their banks, flooded streets and led to the evacuation of several dozen residents.

Four people were initially reported missing, but a woman was found under stones and taken to a hospital in the city of Lugano.

The body of a man was found eight kilometers from where he disappeared, police said on Sunday.

Rescue workers are still searching for the two remaining people, but a police spokesman said the chances of finding them alive were “low”.

The three people were probably at home when the floods swept away three houses and three vehicles, police said.

Further west, the Alpine holiday resort of Zermatt was cut off from the outside world by the floods.

Images from the city, which lies at the foot of the famous Matterhorn, showed floodwaters raging through the streets on Friday.

The Swiss government’s weather service said 124 mm of rain fell in the region on Friday – most of it within an hour.

“Such a concentration of precipitation only occurs once every 30 years,” said a spokesman for the service.

Train connections between Visp and Zermatt have been suspended and the road between Täsch and Zermatt is closed, making the resort completely inaccessible.

Authorities had prepared for flooding and restricted public access to the banks of the Rhône and its tributaries from Friday.