These are the hours at risk, because the intensity of the rain should decrease in the afternoon, but now the water is scary. Not so much that of rivers, even if some have passed the warning level; but the one that infiltrates, which slowly digs under the rocks, which divides the land and works on areas already at risk of slipping.
Water can cause landslides, as it has in some small municipalities. In Paesana a large boulder fell along a local road; between Monforte and Gallo d’Alba some trees blocked the provincial road: a car was damaged, no one was injured.
“I am already fallen between 130 and 150 millimeters of rain, in some areas even something more: the rainfall is still ongoing, but we have already reached numbers that can lead to the activation of landslides» analyzes According to Barberogeneral manager of Arpa Piemonte and expert in natural risk monitoring and forecasting.
Observe carefully the hilly and foothill areas of Turin and Cuneo, where there is a moderate probability of landslides. The Arpa bulletin of the early afternoon of Saturday, valid until 13 today, has an orange alert for hydrogeological and hydraulic risk in Upper and Lower Valsusa and in the Chisone, Pellice, Stura, Orco, Lanzo, Sangone, Varaita, Maira, Tanaro valleys and in the Cuneo plain .
In the rest of Piedmont – with the exception of the Toce and Scrivia areas – the alert is yellow. And the flood wave of the Po in Turin is expected during the day. «It won’t be anything catastrophic, but it is necessary to limit access to the Murazzi area and the Municipality has already taken action. We’re monitoring the responses coming from the streams. The first to get up on Friday were those from the Monregalese area such as the Ellero and the Corsaglia. Especially in the border area between the provinces of Turin and Cuneo we register quite high levels: specifically, the upper Po, the Pellice and the Varaita have exceeded the danger level. We expect them to rise again and their contribution will lead to the flooding of the Po also in the city of Turin» explains Barbero.
However, there is an improvement in the weather conditions on the horizon. «The perturbation is brought about by very humid Scirocco winds which have impacted against the Alpine barrier of Piedmont. The rains will be persistent until today’s morning, then in the plains they will begin to weaken» analyzes the meteorologist Andrea Vuolo. «But be careful of the accumulated humidity which could form thunderstorms in the late afternoon. Between this evening and tomorrow morning, more scattered precipitations could form but with possible locally strong phenomena in the Cuneo area ». Despite the easing of rain, waterways will still need to be monitored in the lowlands. «It takes at least 12-24 hours for the waters to flow from the mountain to the valley – observes Vuolo -, the floods of the rivers can therefore be expected between today and the early hours of tomorrow. It also snowed between 1800 and 2000 metres, but the snow level is rising up to 2200-2400: therefore, the further contribution brought by the melting of snow will also have to be considered».
