After mild temperatures, here is the tail end of winter that it brought with it weather conditions adverse events in various regions of Italy, causing a series of problems including avalanches, landslides and flooding. The Maltempo it affected all of Italy but mainly the northern regions, in particular Valle d'Aosta, Liguria and Piedmont generating significant damage and isolation in several communities. Alert for the flooding of the Po in Turin and Emilia Romagna. A 16-year-old boy tragically died in an avalanche during an off-piste excursion in Plan, in Val Passiria, South Tyrol.
La pioggia persistent of the last ten days has brought to Italy a amount of precipitation which usually occur during two months. In the North of the country, accumulations of up to 500/600mm were recorded, while in the Center and in some areas of the South, 250/300mm were reached.
Valle d'Aosta: isolated communities and avalanche danger
In the Aosta Valley, avalanches caused theisolation of numerous locations. Until midnight today, a'orange alert for the avalanche risk in the Lys Valley, Aosta Valley. More than 6.000 people are isolated because of an avalanche that has blocked a tunnel and several regional roads in the municipalities of Gressoney La Trinité, Gressoney Saint Jean and Gaby. In the affected areas, snow accumulation exceeded one metre. The alert for the risk of further avalanches is very high, especially considering the expected increase in temperatures today.
“It just stopped snowing. We have about one meter, one meter and 20 on the ground. There is no certainty as to the timing of the possible reopening of SR44 to interrupt the isolation" commented the mayor of the city, Alexander Girod. “We have 2.500-3.000 people. There are 300 residents, the remainder are tourists. Around 200-250 remained stranded today and found accommodation in hotels. At the moment there is electricity, we have food, the town shop is able to provide the service, we have diesel, at the moment we are self-sufficient".
“The vehicles are starting to work to clear the snow. I hope that in the afternoon we can return to normality" continued Girod.
Similar problems a Cogne. “The night was quiet. We have had electricity problems, in some areas there have been blackouts which will be resolved", explains the mayor, Franco Allera. “We are waiting – he adds – for the sky to open and for a helicopter flight to be carried out to understand the situation, then the local avalanche commission will meet again and evaluate whether the conditions exist for the reopening”. Isolated due to the risk of falling plants valgrisenche (which has around 200 residents) and the upper part of Valsavarenche is closed due to avalanche danger.
During the night, an avalanche hit the regional road in the Rhêmes valley, Aosta Valley, isolating the municipality of Rhêmes-Notre-Dame, which has about 80 residents in addition to tourists. The mayor of Rhêmes-Saint-Georges, In the Therisod, confirmed that there were no reports of damage to people or things. The landslide occurred in the Mélignon hamlet and the road was closed in the Frassiney hamlet. Currently, technicians are conducting an inspection to evaluate the safe reopening.
Piedmont: hydrogeological risk and flooding
In Piedmont, heavy rains have increased hydrogeological risk and caused flooding. Today the bad weather seems to give a respite but the situation remains worrying particularly inAlexandrian, where the hydrogeological alert was raised to red level, the highest. In Turin, i Murazzi del Po are flooded and closed from midnight, waiting for thearrival of the flood following the swelling of the tributaries caused by rainfall. The level of the Po river is increased by two metres in the last 24 hours at the Crescentino Po hydrometer, located in the Turin area.
THEorange alert it extends across the Turin area, the Cuneo area and some centers in the Asti and Alessandria areas. In the mountains, snow accumulations are significant, with the avalanche risk classified as high. There are almost two meters of snow in Sestriere (Turin), one and a half meters in Bardonecchia (Turin). In the Tortona area, a landslide fell on the provincial road 104 in Volpedo during the night. In the last 24 hours, 142 millimeters of rain fell in Luserna San Giovanni and 133 in Talucco, in the Pinerole area; 129 millimeters in Barge (Cuneo), 82 in the center of Turin.
In the last 24 hours, significant damage was also reported in the Vercelli area, in particular in Valsesia, where numerous rescue operations were necessary by the Fire Brigade and volunteers due to water damage, fallen trees and road problems.
Liguria: landslides and mudslides in the Cinque Terre
Also the Liguria it suffered damage due to bad weather, with landslides and small landslides which caused traffic interruptions. In Genoa, a landslide blocked a road in Borzoli, while other landslides affected various road arteries, including the provincial road of Val Graveglia and the provincial road 453 in Villanova d'Albenga.
Two landslides have caused interruptions in the provincial road network Cinque Terre. During the night, a landslide affected provincial road 43 between Levanto and Monterosso, blocking traffic between the towns of Legnaro and Chiesa Nuova. The Province of La Spezia also reported the closure of the SP30 of Corniglia due to the fall of rocks which damaged the protection nets. Technicians are on site to assess the situation, which remains ongoing. In Val di Vara, the SP20 towards Madrignano remains closed due to a large-scale collapse that occurred in recent days
Campania: yellow alert for bad weather
Weather warning in Campania: the regional Civil Protection has issued a warning 24-hour yellow alert for "local precipitation, including showers or isolated thunderstorms, regularly of moderate intensity" in all eight meteorological zones of the region. Thunderstorms expected until 20pm on Monday 4 March. With the drastic drop in temperatures, snow has returned to Vesuvius.
The snow has also whitened the Gennargentu, in the Nuorese region, in Sardinia. Fonni, Desulo and Tonara, the highest towns in the area, were the most affected by the wave of bad weather.
