Damage and victims also in Switzerland, in the Canton of Ticino. In France three deaths after a tree falls
July 1, 2024
Although on the sky of Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta the grey clouds are still causing concern, the danger of a new flood seems to have passed for the moment. Fortunately there are no victims or injuries, but in the meantime the two regions of the north-west have to deal with the great damage caused by those hours of torrential rain that brought traffic to its knees, and forced the evacuation – in Cogne – of 300 people through the use of helicopters. The most difficult situations were in the Aosta Valley. Here, at the headquarters of the Civil Protection, the Rescue Coordination Center (CCS) met.
After the flooding of the last few hours, the Dora Baltea is currently seeing its water levels drop. The entire Cogne valley was particularly affected by disasters, where collapses and debris flows were recorded, as well as widespread flooding of the tributaries of the Grand Eyvia. The 300 people evacuated through the use of 4 helicopters they were distributed between Cogne (100) and Valnontey (200), and were transferred to Aymavilles. The regional Civil Protection is preparing the Calamity Decree which will be followed by the request to the National Civil Protection Department for support.
“In these hours – explained the President of the Aosta Valley Region, Renzo Testolin – we are focusing mainly on theaccessibility of the Cogne valley which requires important interventions that cannot be resolved in the short term as well as on the services and needs of the community which is isolated by the interrupted roads, but attention is also high on the extensive damage in Breuil-Cervinia and on the restoration of traffic in the lower Valley. We have asked the local administrators of all the municipalities involved to start counting the damage in order to arrive at an overall estimate in the next few days.”
Difficult situation also in Valtournenchewhere the town was invaded by a mudslide and debris. “We had this major flood, but we are working to get back as soon as possible,” Mayor Elisa Cicco told LaPresse. “Fortunately there were no injuries or other serious situations: now we are getting back on our feet.” “We are cleaning with bulldozers, we are intervening promptly. All together, the whole town is united and is working with maximum collaboration.”
The Minister of Civil Protection is constantly following the developments, Nello Musumeciwhich in a note expressed “closeness and solidarity to the affected populations”, reiterating the need to “no longer speak of exceptional but ordinary events, for which unfortunately we must all prepare ourselves, institutions and citizens, in a serious structural and non-structural prevention activity”. Also in Piedmont the violent rains caused a lot of damage and inconvenience. Landslides and mudslides occurred in the provinces of Verbano and Turin.
The mayor of Noasca feared reliving the nightmare of the 2000 flood, Domenico Aimonino, who told LaPresse: “We were lucky not to have had any victims, but we recorded extensive damage on the cliffs of the waterfall where 4 landslides were recorded.” Aimonino also explained that he had heard from the president of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio, who reassured him about the request for a state of calamity. Meanwhile, the bad weather front is expected in the North East.
For today it was Yellow alert issued for Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia and some areas of Emilia Romagna. Scattered to widespread precipitation is expected from the early hours, mainly in the form of showers or thunderstorms, over Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto, extending to Emilia-Romagna from the afternoon. The phenomena will be accompanied by heavy showers, frequent electrical activity, localized hailstorms and strong gusts of wind.
Damage and victims in the Canton of Ticino. France, three killed by a fallen tree
Not just northern Italy. The wave of bad weather It also hit in Swiss and in Francecausing damage and casualties. In the Swiss country the most affected region was that of Canton of Ticinowhere a landslide occurred in Fontana, in the municipality of Cevio, causing at least three deaths. There is no news, however, about a fourth person, who is missing in Val Lavizzara. Rain and strong winds have devastated the territory and swelled the waters of the Maggia river, which have reached 2 thousand cubic meters per second. A situation that has led to the evacuation of the campsites located along the Magia. The Visletto road bridge has collapsed, while there are no longer any connections between the lower and upper Valmaggia.
Further north, the Rodano it overflowed in several areas of the Canton of Valais, flooding a motorway and a railway line. According to the police, the side valleys south of the Rhone were affected by particularly heavy rain. The body of a manwho had been reported missing by his partner, was found in a hotel in the Alpine resort of Saas-Grund. It is believed that he was taken by surprise by the floods. Another person, however, has been missing since Saturday evening in the Biin area, in the upper Rhone valley, near the border with Italy.
Tragedy also occurred in the Aube department in the Grand Est region of France, plagued by rain and gusts of wind. On the D396 road, between Rosnay-l’Hôpital and Brienne-le-Château, a tree fell due to bad weather, overwhelming a car. The budget is tking dead and one seriously injured. According to the reconstruction of the deputy mayor of Rosnay-l’hôpital, Brice Martin, “the motorists stopped in front” of a house, seeking shelter, but the tree – a chestnut – broke at a height of five meters due to the force of the wind, falling on the car with violence”. For the Aube department, as for 34 others, Météo-France had issued an orange alert for bad weather.
