And that was just one accident
Crew from a US aircraft carrier that helped with the rescue effort in Fukushima (as it happened to be very close to Sendai) got sick (some terminally).
The crew then sued Uncle Sam because the brass first told them there’s no danger (hint: if the air tastes metallic, it’s high time to get the fuck out of wherever you are).
Luckily for Uncle Sam, a law got passed in 1945 that says if you’re a soldier for Uncle Sam and get insured or die, you can’t sue. Suck it up, buttercup!
Then, they turned around and sued TEPCO (the company that owns Fukushima) - but that got thrown out, too.
So, the first rule of nuclear disasters is to simply not be in a nuclear disaster…
As for the current “disruptions”. There’s talk that the Gulf States have food for maybe two weeks.
At the current rate, I don’t think they’ll get enough people out to make the food last for the supposed 4-6 weeks this thing is going to last.
Furka Tunnel: trains and piggyback suspended after an incident
The Furka Railway Tunnel has been closed to traffic since Wednesday afternoon until further notice. The fault of a truck loaded on a piggyback convoy, which came out of the holds and damaged a stopped train as well as part of the infrastructure.
The incident occurred at around 3:35 p.m., shortly after the convoy left Oberwald (VS) in the direction of Realp (UR), near the siding tunnel that precedes the Furka tunnel by a few hundred meters. Investigators are hard at work, the railway company Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) said on Thursday.
The Swiss Security Investigation Service (SESE) and the police have taken the first fingerprints. The Valais Public Prosecutor’s Office is due to carry out further inspections during the day. “As the checks are still ongoing, the section has not yet been restored,” a spokeswoman for the MGB told Keystone-ATS.
It is currently not possible to travel to Realp from Oberwald and vice versa. Piggyback transport is as affected as regular rail traffic. Travellers are asked to make a detour to Zurich.
Also moderators you might want to pin this thread to the top of the sub forum so it doesn’t disappear down the line.
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Done.
I realize the horse has already bolted, but it could be useful to try and keep this thread for information only about disruptions. Discussions related to various disruptions can go in other categories (politics, etc.) as appropriate.
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Gotthard to close due to snow?!
TBH, closed due to lack of winter tires in passenger cars and chains in trucks & buses.
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It doesn’t say that though.
When there is snow and ice, there are always many accidents - including a lot of single-vehicle ones.
Have you considered that rather than a lack of the right equipment, a lot of drivers just can’t drive safely in winter weather?
Not appreciating that the speed limit is a limit and not a target, especially in bad conditions.
Driving too close to the vehicle in front.
Not allowing extra time for journeys.
My mistake, forgot the link:
Dense snowfall caused numerous vehicles to skid and sometimes come to a standstill on the road. Particularly tricky: The blocked vehicles included several trucks. Because the roads were blocked as a result, even snow clearing vehicles could no longer get through.
So, trucks get stuck with little snow, snow plows can’t keep doing their job and everyone is stuck.
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We had late snow after a summery period a couple of years ago.
I changed to summer tyres in late March and then back to winter to drive through to Ticino at Easter.
FTFY
A bit of voyeurism…looking at how the Gotthard traffic jam grows. Ahhhh Pannenfahrzeug, tunnel closed in both directions an hour ago. 8km line in the South direction.
Still no bluesky, so twitter via nitter, no account required https://nitter.net/TCSGotthard
Anyone flying east these days?
Swiss über Afghanistan: Fliegen ohne Fluglotsen und ohne Radar wegen Iran-Sperre - 20 Minuten
Swiss and pretty well everyone else European. Relative flew Finnair from Bangkok recently and I saw the track ran over Afghanistan. You’ll find BA, AF, SAS, Lufthansa et al there as well.
There’s bugger local stuff so you’re only talking long haul and at increased separation. No different to flying over an ocean (also uncontrolled if far enough from land) so I don’t see any problem.
It the Taliban were pinging missiles about that would be a different matter but atm they’re not.
Don’t know what the hell they’re doing, but the road from Vallorbe to Pontarlier (N57) is closed from the Vallorbe direction until the 24th July 2026; there are diversions in place to get you to Pontarlier by other routes. From Pontarlier to Vallorbe is open, but you’re switching from side to side of the road in some parts and it has a 50kms speed limit on it.
May Day. It’s one of those extremely rare times of popular protest and disruption to transit, cars, buses, trams.
Most demonstrations took place in the morning, but some further events in the afternoon in Zurich and Liestal (BL).
I’m just wondering at the historic/cultural significance of Liestal, why protest there?
I’ll just pay homage to the pagan origins. It’s a great day to grill some pork and drink more wine. Happy Floralia everyone!
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Sorry if if hurts Swiss’ sensibilities, it’s the Bild from Austria.
Residents (of Wipptal) will shut down Brenner pass: The main road in the Alps is blocked
On 30. In May, the Brenner motorway and the federal roads B182 and L38 in the Wipptal will be fully closed to through traffic for eight hours because of a demonstration. Made possible by a decision of the Regional Administrative Court of Tyrol. Thus, the most important transport connection via the Alps on the weekend after Pentecost is completely blocked.
The open question is how many people that planned to use the Brenner Pass that weekend will switch to Switzerland.
Question is - what are they demoing about?
The article mentions something about noise protection (barriers?).
I guess the Brenner Pass motorway increased traffic and some mitigation measures for the local population are still missing.