Storm 200 people allowed to return after evacuation in Valais
After a debris flow in Val de Bagnes VS, most of the 240 people who were evacuated to safety can return to their homes. The village of Champsec was evacuated as a precautionary measure on Thursday night due to a threatening situation.
04.07.2024, 11:05
04.07.2024, 15:16
SDA
"Almost all the inhabitants of the village of Champsec can return," said the deputy municipal secretary of Val de Bagnes, Antoine Schaller, at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency. Of the 200 or so people affected, only the residents of five houses on the banks of the Dranse de Bagnes are not allowed to return to their homes.
For the time being, the precautionary measures remain in place for around forty people from the hamlets of Les Epenays and Fregnoley and from the Champsec campsite. The authorities had ordered the evacuation of these three villages on Wednesday afternoon following the mudslide in the Torrent du Fregnoley.
In the late evening, the municipality also evacuated the village of Champsec due to the increasing amount of mud on the road and in the vicinity of the Dranse. In addition, the Fregnoley torrent undermined a former garbage dump and partially buried the cantonal road.
It will take several days to clear this road, said municipal secretary Schaller. However, it is possible to use the road that leads to Verbier via Sarreyer to reach the upper part of the valley.
The village of Lourtier, which was previously cut off from the outside world, is accessible again. However, traffic is difficult and is being monitored because the road crosses a bridge over the Fregnoley.
