Two people were still missing in Italy on Friday, April 18, after an unusually heavy spring storm across the Alps dumped more than a meter of snow in some places, shutting ski areas, halting transport and leaving at least one person dead. The storm shut roads, halted trains and cut power to areas in France, Italy and Switzerland.
Although snow in April is not rare in the Alps mountain range, the amount that fell in just hours was unusual and took authorities and residents by surprise. In Italy, a 92-year-old man was found dead by firefighters in his flooded home in the northern Piedmont region, the fire brigade said.
"Firefighters continue their search for two missing," Italian firefighters wrote on X Friday. "According to preliminary information, a father and son were swept away in their car near their home" in Vicenza. "Intense and abundant" rain had lashed the north of Italy, turning to snow above 1,800 meters altitude, the Italian air force's weather service said.
In the French resort of Val Thorens, a woman had a heart attack after being buried by an avalanche, authorities said. And in Tignes, authorities ordered residents to stay indoors after more than 1.1 meters of snow fell overnight.
Avalanche risk was hiked to its maximum level in several regions, shutting down several ski areas. The 36,000 people in the Swiss town of Sion were also told to stay home.
Many roads were shut in all three countries due to fallen trees or the risk of avalanches. Heavy trucks were banned from using the main Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy and dozens that could not get through the tunnels were stuck on the A43 highway linking Italy and France. Trains were also affected, and at one point more than 3,300 French homes were without power, according to local authorities in the Savoie region.