Cloudburst in Bardonecchia, torrent overflows: a flow of mud and debris in the center (photo Lapresse)
Storm in Bardonecchia, river overflows, 1 injured and 5 missing
An avalanche of mud and debris hit Bardonecchia late yesterday evening, an important tourist resort in the upper Val di Susa. A landslide at high altitude, probably from a glacier, caused the Merdovine stream, the stream that divides the country in two, to overflow, filling the roads with mud and damaging the bridges that cross it. By the time the debris wave arrived, shortly after 10 pm, the rain that had fallen in the afternoon had stopped in Bardonecchia. There had been a storm about an hour before. In the village there were many people on the streets because the celebrations of the patron saint S. Ippolito were in progress. The provisional toll is one wounded and five people missing, while 120 are displaced.
Bardonecchia: fear and mud avalanche damage, rescue at work
The violent avalanche of mud and debris that hit Bardonecchia caused moments of fear among the residents and the numerous tourists present in the town. According to what has been learned, many people have poured into the streets: various damages to roads and bridges, also damaged the police station, problems in some hotels. The Municipality of Bardonecchia has activated the Municipal Operations Center (COC), to coordinate the interventions of the police forces, the Italian Red Cross and the Alpine Rescue.
The stream that crosses the center of Bardonecchia is overflowed near the town hall square
and via Einaudi: a flow of mud and debris in the center (photo Lapresse)
Bardonecchia: displaced persons housed in the Palazzetto dello Sport
The area most affected by the wave of mud and debris that hit Bardonecchia is that of via Einaudi, the road that runs along the river, and the upper part of via Medail, which crosses the same stream with a bridge. As documented by numerous videos posted on social networks, people were walking peacefully through the streets and had to flee to avoid being hit by the mudslide, which reached a height of one meter in some places. According to what has been learned, about twenty cars ended up in the river and many parked cars were damaged. The damage to the police station was very serious, with many unusable vehicles, and the agents housed in the carabinieri barracks. The Municipality has made the sports hall available to accommodate people who may have to leave their homes or hotels. In some areas of the country there was a lack of electricity and drinking water. Access to Bardonecchia from state road 335 has been blocked.
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