|
|
Article: WILD MOUNTAIN TORRENTS.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Swiss News
- Article date:
- December 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Swiss News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
In just a few seconds, one-third of Gondo, an isolated little Valais village on the Italian border, vanished under a rubble of mud and rocks which buried more than a dozen people with no chance of rescue. Similar disasters occurred throughout Valais in October 2000, as the canton was completely cut off from the outside world. During the past few decades, the world has got used to catastrophic news from Switzerland: the canyoning disaster in the Bernese Oberland, vast floods inundating the country, a winter of avalanches with tourists trapped in Grindelwald having to be supplied and evacuated by helicopter. When visiting Valais in October 2000, even Federal Councillor Ogi ...