Towns flooded

Many areas of the country have been hit by floods, rising river levels or landslides.

A State of Emergency is in place around Giswil in canton Obwalden. Homes have been flooded and the area has been given the nickname of the Venice of Switzerland as locals and rescuers can only get around by boat. 

Authorities elsewhere have also issued warnings. In cantons Fribourg and Bern, people are being told to stay away from the banks of the Aare River. In Biel, the lake has burst its banks and the town of Nidau on its shores has been flooded. 

The river Reuss, flowing through Lucerne, has risen by a meter at the Geissmatt Bridge in the middle of the city. 

Forecasters have estimated how much rain has fallen in the country since Saturday:

Two trillion, nine hundred seventy-six billion, six hundred forty-eight million, five hundred thousand litres.

That’s the same amount of water in Lake Zug. Lake Geneva is 89 trillion litres. 

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