Heavy, incessant rain has caused disasters in the Lanzo Valleys where it has been raining for more than ten hours above 2,000 meters above sea level. An impressive quantity of water that swelled the Stura beyond the warning level. In Val di Viù the volunteer firefighters of the Lanzo detachment managed to reach the road that climbs up to Lago della Torre where several landslides broke out and a shepherd was stuck at about 150 meters above sea level. The firefighters managed to reach him on foot and save him by reaching Usseglio.
Another shepherd has instead remained safe in the mountain pasture, despite the lightning that is discharging at high altitude and can be very dangerous. At the moment there are no problems even for the custodians of the Lago della Rossa dam where the lake level has risen but remains below the control threshold. Shortly before 10 pm the Chialamberto administration decided to evacuate seven families who were at risk in two buildings near the Rio Vassola which has transformed into a raging torrent.
All operations were carried out by firefighter teams from different detachments that reached the Valli di Lanzo where some watercourses swelled by over a meter and a half. At the moment, fortunately, there are no injuries or missing persons. In the Valli di Lanzo some vehicles from the Metropolitan City and Civil Protection are already at work.
The situation in Canavese
A series of violent storms hit a large area of western Canavese yesterday evening, causing damage in several municipalities. Dozens of calls to the fire brigade switchboard. Among the most at-risk situations is an unroofed house in via Matteotti in Busano. Inside were the elderly owner and her son, miraculously unharmed. Other homes in Busano were damaged by the wind which did not spare trees and plants throughout the area. In the Orco valley, in Noasca, due to the rain, the Noaschetta river swelled to such an extent that the famous waterfall at the gates of the town “jumped” the entrance bridge to the town centre, making the temporary closure of the provincial road 460 mandatory of Gran Paradiso.
Another closure, again on the 460, was necessary due to a landslide above Locana, in Fornolosa, where rocks and mud fell from the mountainside onto the asphalt. Luckily, at that moment, no one was passing by. The restoration operations of the 460 continued throughout the night. About thirty people, who were having dinner in the Noasca premises, were left stranded in the town.
In the plains, however, hail hit a vast area between Cuorgnè, Forno, Rivara, Levone, Valperga and Prascorsano. Ice grains as big as peaches were reported, along with enormous damage to crops and numerous car windows shattered. A violent downpour also hit the territory of Valprato Soana in the Campiglia hamlet, in particular the crests bordering the Aosta Valley; the Arietta torrent in the Azaria Valley was blocked by a landslide, spilling material onto the pastures and diverting its course. The two Azaria mountain pastures were left without water and traffic to reach the Barmaion huts was interrupted.
