The Audio Long Read ‘The forest had gone’: the storm that moved a mountain
Sep 22, 2025
A football tournament in the Swiss mountains quickly turns disastrous as a severe thunderstorm descends. As the rain intensifies, participants face growing unease amid meteorological warnings. The chaos peaks when a massive surge of water and rock transforms the landscape overnight. Local heroes emerge as they improvise rescues and navigations through the wreckage. The aftermath reveals a stark reality of climate change, with communities left to grapple with the devastation and a heightened fear of future storms.
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Beautiful But Vulnerable Venue
- Campo Drayoni is a thin, forested football pitch built on rubble that becomes a major gathering spot each summer.
- The tournament draws hundreds and sits vulnerably above steep mountain streams where hazards concentrate.
Limits Of Thunderstorm Forecasting
- Meteorologists issued a Level 4 warning for Ticino but could not localize where storms would hit.
- Thunderstorm prediction remains highly uncertain because turbulence limits spatial precision of forecasts.
Organisers Debate Safety Decisions
- Daniello Rotanzi and others debated safety and scaled the stage down because of a Level 3/4 warning that day.
- Despite concerns, hundreds gathered in the marquee to watch the Switzerland v Italy game as rain began.