A flood alert on a hot and sunny day!
Flood resilienceReportJuly 30, 2014
An intense thunderstorm caused severe flooding in Emmental and surrounding villages. But the damages would have been even bigger had the water level of the river Aare not been lowered to be able to take up the high discharge of the river Emme. Read more about the terrible flooding in the report of our flood resilience specialist.
At a glance
- An intense local thunderstorm caused severe flooding in many villages in the Emmental valley in Switzerland on July 24, 2014. Bumbach, Schangnau and Kemmeriboden were the communities most affected.
- Public infrastructure, especially roads and bridges, was severely damaged.
- Thanks to a good alarm system and appropriate action by authorities along the Emme and Aare rivers, no lives were lost.
- Downstream losses could be reduced or avoided through effective communication among cantonal authorities and well-coordinated river flow regulation, which reduced the Aare’s flow from approximately 1,000 cubic meters per second (m3/s) to 755 m3/s, below levels that could cause damage. New flood protection measures put in place since 2005 proved effective.
- The situation could again become dangerous; more rain is forecast for the region.
Disclaimer: Views expressed on this page and in the reports are not necessarily those of the Zurich Insurance Group, which accepts no responsibility for them.