Nathalie Cavagnet, who runs the Herbetet hotel with her family, tells Fanpage.it about the flood in Valnontey, one of the hamlets of Cogne most affected by the wave of bad weather that hit the Aosta Valley municipality between Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 June. “We are still stunned by the fury of the water, but we are working to bring everything back to normal,” she explains.
Facebook Photo Grand Paradis Foundation
“We have had electricity again since 7pm last night (Sunday 30th June, ndr), we also have water and the guests, about 200 people, were evacuated between the morning and the afternoon by helicopter. We are still isolated because the municipal road from Cogne to Valnontey is seriously damaged. At the moment we are working to give a hand to colleagues who have suffered damages”.
He’s talking Nathalie Cavagnetwho with his family runs thehotel Herbetetin Valnontey, a hamlet of Cogne among the most affected by thewave of bad weather that hit the Aosta Valley municipality between Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th June. “Now we will have to rebuild farm roads and some paths that have undergone changes. We are working to clean up our village and to bring everything back to normal“, explains the hotelier further.
The flood that hit the Aosta Valley over the weekend isolated Cogne for several hours, due to the collapse of a large portion of the state road that connects it to Aosta. Hundreds of rescuers have been activated to evacuate the people that were found in the locality.
Bad weather devastates Valle D’Aosta and Piedmont: floods, landslides, people evacuated and Cogne isolated
“At the moment we are all dazed from what happened, We didn’t expect such a fury from the water. But now we are reacting and we are working to give a hand to those in difficulty. Our town lives on tourism and right now, at the beginning of the season, we have some worry because the trend is now compromised by the problems Of traffic“, Cavagnet continues.
Facebook Photo Grand Paradis Foundation
“From this point of view there is some uncertainty because we need to understand what the timing Of restoration of the roads, both regional and municipal. For the moment we have held a meeting between hoteliers and hospitality operators here in Cogne and its hamlets to follow a common line for bookings for these weeks in which it will not be possible to reach Cogne. I believe that in the next few days some inspections however we still have no certain news from the relevant authorities”, he adds.
Late on Saturday evening, the 29th, after the situation worsened, the Grand campsite Paradiso was evacuated. In the Cavagnet family hotel they were welcomed some displaced campers, about 30 people.
“It was raining from about 3pm on Saturday afternoon, the river water was quite high tumultuous e increased Of level. There was also a very high freezing point, at about 5,000 meters, so the residual snow at high altitude and the rain caused many waterfalls to fall on the various sides of the mountains. At the campsite they were already on alert“, says the hotelier.
“But then there was this bomba of water which caused the flood torrente Valnontey and it was necessary to evacuate the campsite. The people who were staying there left in the dark and in the rain, following a sort of trail through the woods that leads to our hotel”, continues Cavagnet.
Facebook Photo Grand Paradis Foundation
“When they arrived we were already without electricity. We welcomed them and tried to dry them, to keep them warm. Some were very scared, there were also children. Fortunately we had some free rooms, families with children and elderly people were placed there. While for the others we found alternative solutions and the next morning we tried to give a semblance of normality, preparing a breakfast with what we had.”
“Then came the order of evacuation and little by little we informed the various guests, who left their vehicles in our parking lot because obviously they could not go beyond the town of Valnontey. And everyone, by 4/5 pm in the afternoon, was transported to the valley floor“.
