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Avalanches cause road closures in Italy. Communities are currently isolated. There are also problems with the power supply.
Update from March 4th, 2:15 p.m.: The regional roads of Valgrisenche and Val di Rhêmes in the Aosta Valley have now been reopened. The regional road from Cogne, however, is still closed. It was closed as a precautionary measure due to the risk of avalanches. Almost 2,000 people in the town are cut off from the outside world. The mobile phone network is also patchy here, as some repeaters are out of service, as Rai reports. In addition there are some Power supply problems.
Update from March 4th, 1:24 p.m.: In the Aosta Valley in Italy, several thousand people are cut off from the outside world after heavy snowfall. Avalanches buried some access roads – elsewhere roads were closed as a precaution because of the high risk of avalanches. “At the moment we don’t have any supply problems,” says the mayor of Gressoney-La Trinité, Alessandro Girod Rai. 250 people live in the place. There are currently more than 2,500 tourists. We currently have electricity and enough food.
It is currently completely unclear when the streets will be clear again. In many places the highest danger level still applies. In the last two days alone, almost two meters of fresh snow fell in the Aosta Valley.
Avalanches in Italy Valley: Thousands cut off from the outside world – blackout at night
First report from March 4th: Bad weather is currently keeping the north of Italy in suspense. There is a high risk of avalanches in the Alps due to sometimes massive snowfall. A departure had just cost the life of a Munich resident. Now another big avalanche has occurred in Italy. An entire valley seems to be cut off from the outside world for the time being.
An avalanche occurred on Monday night (March 4th) in the Aosta Valley region in northwestern Italy and, among other things, buried the Val di Rhemes regional road.
Avalanches in Italy: Valley largely isolated
The mountain community of the valley is Rhemes-Notre-Dame, according to the news agency Ansa currently isolated. Almost 80 people live here. There are also tourists. There are currently no reports of damage to people or property, says the mayor of Rhêmes-Saint-Georges, Nella Therisod. “The detachment occurred in the hamlet of Mélignon and the road was closed further down the valley, in the hamlet of Frassiney,” quotes the Ansa Therisod. Technicians are currently checking when the road can be reopened without endangering anyone.
Because of the danger of avalanches in the Aosta Valley, the upper Gressoney Valley has been isolated since yesterday. According to the report, almost 4,500 people stay here. An avalanche had also broken out and blocked a road tunnel. The communities of Gaby and Cogne are affected. For safety reasons, the regional road was closed.
Italy hit by avalanches: some electricity goes out
Vehicles are currently clearing the road. But the work will continue given the masses of snow. The mayor of Gressoney-La-Trinité, Alessandro Girod, hopes that the road will be passable again in the afternoon. The night in isolation passed without any “critical problems”. There was also a major power outage in the municipality of Gressoney, which is located slightly downstream. A fault on the medium-voltage line meant that several parts of the city were without power. Because the regional road was closed, technicians have not yet been able to repair the damage.
Power outages at night are also reported in Cogne. But here too, no critical problems have arisen, reports Cogne Mayor Franco Allera Ansa. The town of Valgrisenche with its almost 200 inhabitants is currently cut off from the outside world due to the risk of avalanches.
On Monday morning, the president of the Aosta Valley region, Renzo Testolin, convened the rescue control center. The initial aim is to be able to assess the current situation.
Last week, a valley in the Aosta Valley had already been evacuated as a precaution because of the high risk of avalanches.
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