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Storm disrupts air, land and water transport

Winds of up to 224 kph have disrupted air, road and rail transport in parts of Switzerland. The area around Zurich was the most affected.

This content was published on March 1, 2008 - 17:15

A number of flights had to be cancelled at Zurich airport, while others were delayed. On the other hand, Zurich received flights diverted from storm-hit airports in southern Germany and Austria. Geneva also suffered delays with incoming flights from Germany and the UK.

A number of trees were blown down in eastern Switzerland, blocking roads. One man was injured when the car he was travelling in drove into a fallen tree.

In the village of Horgen on Lake Zurich a metal roof was blown onto the railway tracks, causing slight delays.

The car ferry between Horgen and Meilen was cancelled. Police said a number of boats had been torn from their moorings on the lake.

The greatest wind speed of 224 kph was recorded on the Aletsch glacier. Wind speed was at its highest in the mountains, but even in the flat lands there wre gusts of more than 100 kph in some places, with 118 kph being measured in Basel.

The Swiss weather service, MeteoSwiss, said such winds only occur every five years on average.

The storm, named Emma, swept over Germany and Austria before reaching Switzerland in the night of Friday to Saturday. It started to slacken on Saturday afternoon, but MeteoSwiss warned that it would remain stormy in the mountains until Sunday afternoon, with gusts of up to 100 kph.

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