Extreme weather has brought avalanches, storms, strong winds and landslides to Italy and France.
A 16-year-old boy died after being hit by an avalanche while skiing off-piste in Plan in Val Passiria in Italy’s South Tyrol region, near the Austrian border. The avalanche risk in the area stands at level three, or “considerable”, on the European avalanche danger scale. The boy is the second person to be killed by an avalanche in the region in recent days.
More than 6,000 people living in three villages in the Gressoney area of the Aosta valley, the Alpine region near the French border, have been isolated since Sunday as a result of avalanches, which also blocked a tunnel.
Thunderstorms and winds of more than 60mph (100km/h) triggered landslides in the Liguria region on Italy’s north-west coast. A tornado struck off the port city of Savona, and waves of more than four metres were recorded in Capo Mele.
The French meteorological office said the mountain area along the Italian border where up to a metre of snow was expected at an altitude of 2,500 metres was at particular risk.
Credit: theguardian.com
