As of: March 15, 2024, 4:46 a.m
By: Richard Strobl
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Italy is currently suffering from extreme weather conditions.
In South Tyrol, a rockfall has buried a road and temporarily completely isolated a community.
Bolzano – Heavy snow and rain have caused major problems in Italy.
Avalanches in the Aosta Valley cut off thousands of residents and holidaymakers from the outside world.
The water level in the Po River rose dangerously.
And in the Alpine region, scree slopes repeatedly cause great danger.
Now the next rockfall has hit a road in South Tyrol and temporarily cut off a community from the outside world.
The community of Prettau in Ahrntal was affected on Friday afternoon.
It is the northernmost municipality in Italy on the border with Austria.
According to
Rai,
the rockfall fell shortly before 3 p.m. and hit the access road in the Ahrntal in the so-called “gorge”.
Scree avalanche isolates Italy's northernmost town from the outside world
Thank God no one was injured in the rockfall.
However, traffic had to be completely closed on both lanes.
This meant that no one could leave or enter the village for hours.
Almost 600 people live in Bretthart.
Almost 40 cubic meters of rubble blocked their passage.
The emergency services - including those from the Prettau and Steinhaus volunteer fire departments - then arrived with two smaller excavators to clear the road again.
Rockfall in South Tyrol: Emergency services are trying to clear the road
Shortly after 7 p.m. there was a partial success: the road was once again accessible as a single lane.
Prettau was therefore no longer completely isolated.
However, in the evening it was still unclear when the road would be completely clear again.
For the mayor of Prettau, this is just another example of why a tunnel construction is needed for the road.
He has already requested this several times, Alexander Steger told Rai.
It's not just the weather that is currently causing destruction in Italy.
The large number of tourists is also worrying the authorities and locals.
The Juliet statue in Verona has now been damaged.
Too many holidaymakers had touched them over the years.