Portugal Colonial - Spring snow storm wreaks deadly havoc in the Alps

Some ski resorts were cut off Thursday and roads, trains and schools were closed and cancelled in Switzerland, Italy and France.

A 92-year-old man was found dead by firefighters in his flooded home in the Italian Piedmont region, the fire brigade and media said.

In the French resort of Val Thorens, a woman suffered cardiac arrest after being buried in an avalanche, authorities said.

Several French ski resorts were closed due to the risk of avalanches.

Although snow in April is not rare, the amount that has fallen took authorities and residents by surprise.

In the French resort of Tignes, authorities ordered residents to remain indoors after more than 1.1 metres (3.6 feet) of snow fell overnight.

The 36,000 people in the Swiss town of Sion were also told to stay home.

"All cars are covered up to the roof... Just walking outside is worrying," said Mathis, a hotel employee in Tignes who declined to give his full name.

"In such a short time, this is an enormous amount," said Yann Geaudry, a retired cross-country ski instructor in the French village of Termignon, who was worried about the risk of floods when the snow melts in the spring sunshine.

In Italy, the air force's weather service reported "intense and abundant" rain that above 1,800 metres turned to snow.

Many roads were shut in all three countries due to fallen trees or the risk of avalanches.

Heavy trucks were banned from using the main Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy.

Dozens of trucks that could not get into tunnels were stuck on the A43 highway linking Italy and France.

"It's truly exceptional," said Didier Beauchet, a retiree who has lived in Lanslebourg in Savoy for 40 years.

"I must have seen that only five times," he told AFP, as motorists around him worked to free their snow-covered cars.

Flooding had already started on the Italian side of the border with the highway from Turin to Aosta closed and some homes in the Aosta valley evacuated due to rising water.

Some parks in the city of Milan were closed because of flooding and strong winds.

burs-ahe/djt/tw/rjm

F.Moura--PC