Roads near Courmayeur closed to tourists because of threat from falling Planpincieux ice

Angela Giuffrida in Rome for The Guardian

Homes have been evacuated in Courmayeur in Italy’s Aosta valley, after a renewed warning that a huge portion of a Mont Blanc glacier is at risk of collapse.

The measures were introduced on Wednesday morning after experts from the Fondazione Montagne Sicura (Safe Mountains Foundation) said 500,000 cubic metres of ice was in danger of sliding off the Planpincieux glacier on the Grandes Jorasses park.

Some 65 people, including 50 tourists, have left homes in Val Ferret, the hamlet beneath the glacier. Roads have been closed to traffic and pedestrians.

“We will find [alternative] solutions for residents,” Stefano Miserocchi, the mayor of Courmayeur, told the Italian news agency Ansa. “The tourists will have to find other solutions.”

Glaciologists monitoring Planpincieux say a new section of ice is at risk of collapse. Homes were also evacuated in September last year following a warning that 250,000 cubic meters of ice could fall. The movement of the glacial mass was due to “anomalous temperature trends”, the experts said.

The glacier has been closely monitored since 2013 to detect the speed at which the ice is melting.

In August 2018, a heavy storm unleashed a debris flow, killing an elderly couple when their car was swept from the road that is currently closed.

In the event of a collapse, it would take less than two minutes for the mass to reach the municipal road below.

Related news:
Resort evacuated over fears of Mont Blanc glacier collapse (CNN)
Mont Blanc: Glacier collapse risk forces Italy Alps evacuation (BBC News)

Don’t miss stories like this Click for free EnviroPolitics Blog updates