The Swiss ski resort of Zermatt was cut off and tourists and residents were told to stay indoors in the French resort of Tignes because of heavy snow in the Alps on Thursday, IPN reports.

Tignes Mayor Serge Revial said there was a high risk of avalanches and “we had to make a decision to protect people”, after more than a metre of snow was dumped over the town, according to the BBC.

Although snowfall in April is not uncommon in the Alps, extreme events have caused power outages in thousands of homes in the Savoie region of eastern France.

In Switzerland, the Simplon Pass, a road to Italy and the Great St Bernard tunnel were closed to traffic, and two cantons were severely affected

In Valais and Bernese Oberland, tourists heading for ski holidays were hit by the disruption. Road and rail routes were cut off into the resort of Zermatt in the southern canton of Valais; power was cut throughout Thursday and mobile phone networks were badly disrupted.

Queues built up outside the only supermarket open in the town, according to Swiss media.

The Alertswiss app warned of the risk of avalanches and falling trees in Valais as well as major disruption to transport. Schools were closed on April 17 in the city of Sion.

People travelling to the area for Easter were advised to delay their trips until Saturday.

Photo source: www.inthesnow.com