By Xinhua
Geneva : The water levels of many Swiss lakes and rivers rose to critical levels Thursday after torrential rain hit many parts of the country.
Thousands of policemen, firemen and civil defence workers are pumping out flooded cellars and clearing roads as the rain continues, Swiss Radio International (SRI) reported.
The situation has caused chaos on the roads, with many closed as a result of flooding or landslides. Rail traffic has also been affected.
Alarms were sounded in several parts of the country both Wednesday evening and Thursday, and more than 100 people were evacuated from their homes. Many have been injured by accidents caused by the heavy rains around the country.
The worst affected regions for rail transport because of the flooding included northwest Switzerland, the central plateau and Winterthur, north of Zurich.
The Swiss Federal Railways has urged people to seek information about the situation in their region before travelling.
MeteoSchweiz, the national weather service, has reported that persistent rain will continue across much of the country throughout Thursday, although it believed the worst was now over.
The weather service noted that Zurich had experienced its heaviest rainfall in the past 100 years, with 100 litres per cubic metre precipitation in 24 hours between Wednesday and Thursday.