Landslide on Mount Monviso; one hiker missing. Yellow alert in five regions
A foreign national has been reported missing after failing to return to the Quintino Sella Mountain Hut. Temperatures remain above average
A massive rockslide broke away on the evening of 1 September from Monviso, affecting the area near the Quintino Sella Refuge and a section of the path leading to Pian del Re, where the River Po rises. This was reported by the Alpine Rescue Service.
The Quintino Sella Mountain Hut was subsequently informed of the failure of a hiker of foreign nationality to return. Investigations are under way to ascertain his whereabouts and any possible link to the landslide, although at present there is no evidence to suggest that anyone was caught up in the landslide.
The Azienda Zero Piemonte Regional Air Ambulance Service, which took off from Turin in night-flight configuration, attempted to reach the area, but the large amount of airborne dust and the instability of the landslide front prevented it from landing. The Alpine Rescue Service resumed its search and assessment operations at first light.
As for the weather, we are leaving behind an exceptional summer, with the hottest June–July on record for Western Europe and monthly temperature anomalies of around +3–5 degrees in July across large parts of western Italia. For the autumn, the signs point to temperatures likely to be above normal, whilst the picture regarding rainfall is more uncertain, with the risk of storms potentially looming.
Still in Piedmont, in light of the weather forecast, the regional government has extended the protective measures for workers exposed to high temperatures and engaged in strenuous physical activity on the hottest days until 6 September. In Bari, the Civil Protection Agency has issued the highest alert (red bulletin, level 3) for extreme temperatures on days up to and including Thursday 3 September. The situation is the same in Campobasso.
