Walnut-sized hailstones hit Switzerland

Last updated at 14:57 19 July 2005


Hailstones the size of walnuts fell in the Alps yesterday, causing damage to towns in France and Switzerland and ripping up vineyards and flowerbeds around the resort towns of Lake Geneva.

In France, the Alpine towns of Thonon and Evian - home of the famed mineral water - were hardest hit by the afternoon storm that ripped apart rooftops, toppled trees and flooded homes, firefighters said.

One man was reported injured by a flying tree branch. In Switzerland, where summer hail storms in the Alps are not unusual, rescuers said the hail was exceptionally large.

Hundreds of windows were broken in the resort town of Montreux, on the Swiss side of Lake Geneva, where police said no serious injuries were reported.

Vineyards in several Swiss towns around the Lake Geneva area were ripped apart. Some vintners said their entire crop of grapes was destroyed, just months before the harvest.

Boats were capsized on some of the country's larger lakes. The storms - with winds of up to 100 mph - hit after several days of very hot weather, according to Swiss meteorological organisation MeteoSuisse.

Even Switzerland's famously reliable train network was affected when a tree fell on the main line between the country's capital, Bern, and largest city, Zurich.

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