How Switzerland is trying to defeat extreme weather events

Billions of francs have since been spent on beefing up flood defences. More money is being poured into solutions, including a CHF1 billion pledge to protect the Rhine Valley between Switzerland and Austria over the next three decades.

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Experts say that while flood defences can mitigate the risk of damage, nature will always prove a more powerful and unpredictable force than concrete walls or channels and forecasting models.

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“The current system, which has evolved over the last 30 years, is based on maps of land usage and potential hazards, some of which were drawn up 20 or 30 years ago,” said Jordan. In that time, the landscape has changed with some small communities disappearing and others expanding.

Zischg wants flood hazard maps to pay more attention to smaller rivers, such as the ones that recently burst their banks in cantons Valais and Graubünden.