Italian Resort Evacuated Over Risk of Falling Mont Blanc Ice 6 August 2020, by Marco Bertorello with Alexandria Sage in Rome

Italian resort evacuated over risk of falling Mont Blanc ice 6 August 2020, by Marco Bertorello With Alexandria Sage In Rome east of the picturesque town and ski resort. The evacuation of 75 people, including 15 residents, began on Thursday after an alert from the mayor the night before. Roads leading to the Val Ferret valley below, a favourite spot for hikers, were closed. "The evacuation was urgent and imperative," mayor Stefano Miserocchi told reporters. "The situation foresees a high alert in the next 72 hours." The evacuation of 75 people began on Thursday after an alert from the local mayor An alpine resort in Italy was on high alert on Thursday and dozens of people were evacuated over fears a huge chunk of a mountain glacier could break away because of sudden high temperatures. The hovering block of ice from the Planpincieux glacier within the Mont Blanc massif is estimated at Last autumn, another section of ice from the Planpincieux about 500,000 cubic metres, said Valerio Segor, glacier threatened to collapse director of the natural risk management service for the Aosta Valley region. That is the equivalent size of Milan's cathedral, or 'A slide' "a soccer field with 80 metres of ice on it," he said at a press conference in the northwestern Italian The precarious chunk of ice is located about 2,600 town of Courmayeur, near the French border. to 2,800 metres (about 8,500-9,200 feet) above sea level and slowly detaching, Segor said. "Any fall would be capable of considerable damage and also travel a long way," he said, equivalent to "With our monitoring systems and photographic an avalanche. comparisons we have identified a sector of the glacier that is giving way, at a not exaggerated Experts say a recent rise in temperature means speed," he said, adding that the "anomalous that the massive chunk of ice could break off and behaviour" of that section of ice was visible from slide down the mountain, threatening homes to the flights over the glacier. 1 / 2 The thermal shock of high temperatures, which then turned cold before rising again "fragilises that part of the glacier with the risk of immediate collapse", he said. "The water flowing underneath can, in fact, act as a 'slide'. It is the most dangerous situation and one most predisposed to collapse." Time-lapse video footage of the glacier from July handed out by the Montagna Sicura foundation in Courmayeur shows the glacier slowly but visibly moving down the side of the mountain. Authorities are able to track the movement of the area's glaciers through photo and radar monitoring. Last autumn, another section of ice from the Planpincieux glacier threatened to collapse, prompting road closures in the area. Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps at over 4,800 metres. © 2020 AFP APA citation: Italian resort evacuated over risk of falling Mont Blanc ice (2020, August 6) retrieved 23 September 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2020-08-italians-evacuated-falling-mont-blanc.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. 2 / 2 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org).

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Val Ferret Pilot Action Region Grandes Jorasses
Chapter Val Ferret Pilot Action Region: Grandes Jorasses Glaciers - An Open-Air Laboratory for the Development of Close-Range Remote Sensing Monitoring Systems Paolo Perret, Jean Pierre Fosson, Luca Mondardini and Valerio Segor Abstract The Val Ferret valley (Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy) was included as a Pilot Action Region (PAR) of the GreenRisk4Alps project since it is both a famous tourist location and a high-risk area for all types of mass movement processes. Typical natural hazards that endanger this PAR are debris flows and avalanches, sometimes connected to ice collapses from the glaciers of the Mont Blanc massif. Thanks to the steep sides of the valley and widespread alluvial channels, these events can reach the valley floor, where public roads, villages and touristic attractions are located. This article presents the main challenges of natural hazard management in the Val Ferret PAR, as well as the role of forestry and protective forests in the Aosta Valley Autonomous Region. As an example of good practice, the monitoring systems of the Planpincieux and Grandes Jorasses glaciers are presented. Recently, these glaciers have become an open-air laboratory for glacial monitoring techniques. Many close- range surveys have been conducted here, and a permanent network of monitoring systems that measure the surface deformation of the glaciers is currently active. Keywords: Val Ferret, protective forest, Mont Blanc, Aosta Valley, monitoring, glacial hazards, remote sensing 1. Introduction Courmayeur (1,224 m asl) is a small mountain town located in the Aosta Valley Autonomous Region, in northwestern Italy. It is a famous tourist destination whose fame and history are largely related to the presence of the Mont Blanc massif, which is one of the most renowned attractions in the Alps.
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