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Italian firefighters have said that they will launch a huge operation
to pump water out of a glacier that is melting fast on top of the
second largest mountain in the Alps, causing a flood risk for a
ski resort below.
Pumps flown in
Specialists said that such rapid melting of a glacier at this time
of year was unprecedented, although they stressed that there was
as yet no danger to people in the Italian ski resort of Macugnaga,
located below the Belvedere glacier on Mount Rose. Ten pumps have
been helicoptered onto the 2,500m high glacier in the Swiss-Italian
Alps. The water pumping operation was set to have begun this weekend,
moving water to the Locce basin (height 2,209m).
Evacuation Scare
The 700 people who live in Macugnaga have been at risk of flooding
since the centre of the glacier began melting rapidly, forming a
14-hectare lake which is estimated to hold some three million cubic
meters of water. The fear is that the temporary lake could overflow
or lead to a breaking off of part of the glacier. Some 15 people
were evacuated Tuesday and Wednesday night, but were allowed to
return to their homes on Thursday. There is said to be no immediate
danger and the road and valley are not closed although a full evacuation
plan has been set up just in case.
Emergency service workers have been
exploring the site, reachable only by helicopter, even through fog
and rain, since they were notified of the problem about two weeks
ago. 200 people are now deployed in the area to protect the surrounding
Anzasca Valley. Video cameras track the water level around the clock
and transmit the images to a control room at Macugnaga. The Mayor,
Teresio Valsesia, said that six helicopters and several vehicles
would carry out a practice evacuation run and would then be at the
disposal of the village's residents.
Probable Cause
Glacier melting is often the result of global warming, and officials
said the Belvedere's melting was likely the result of the intense
heat wave that raged through Italy in June.
[ Main story from Space
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