Cogne on its knees after floods, mudslides hit north

Evacuation of tourists from isolated town continue

By: ansa.it

Jul 01 2024
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Cogne on its knees after flood

Cogne was on its knees on Monday after the wave of extreme weather, featuring torrential rain, flooding and mudslides, that has hit northern Italy left the town cut off and without water.
    The evacuation of tourists from Cogne continued on Monday after around 500 were airlifted out via helicopter on Sunday, with the regional highway to the Aosta Valley town on the slopes of the Gran Paradiso mountain blocked at three points due to mudslides.
    Officials have said it could take weeks to clear the road, while work is also needed to repair the aqueduct that brings water to the town.
    The damage caused to property in the town by the extreme weather is huge.
    The wave of extreme weather, which has claimed lives in Switzerland and France, also hit Piedmont and other parts of the Aosta Valley.
    These include the ski resort of Cervinia, where Deputy Mayor Massimo Chatrian said the damage adds up to "millions and millions".
    Scientists say the climate crisis caused by human greenhouse gas emissions is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves, drought, supercharged storms and flooding more frequent and more intense.
    Although there are many sources of the greenhouse gases that are causing global heating, the main driver is the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, sales of which generate huge profits for the world's energy giants.
    A series of recent disasters triggered by extreme weather have shown Italy's exposure to hydrogeological risk including flooding, mudslides and landslides.