Mont Blanc glacier could collapse at any moment, Italy warns

[Eugene]

Source: CNN

Mont Blanc glacier could collapse at any moment, Italy warns

Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN • Updated 25th September 2019

(CNN) — Italian authorities have closed roads and ordered the evacuation of huts on the Italian side of Mont Blanc, following warnings that part of a glacier could collapse at any moment.

A staggering 250,000 cubic meters (8.8 million cubic feet) of ice could break away from the Planpincieux glacier on the Grandes Jorasses mountain in the Mont Blanc massif, experts at the Valle d'Aosta regional government and the Fondazione Montagna Sicura (Safe Mountain Foundation) reported in an analysis published this week.

While it's impossible to predict the exact timing of the collapse, observations in August and September showed that the glacier was shifting at a speed of 50 to 60 centimeters (20 to 24 inches) a day, experts said.

"These phenomena once again show that the mountain is going through a phase of strong change due to climatic factors, therefore it is particularly vulnerable," Stefano Miserocchi, mayor of nearby Courmayeur, said in a statement. "In this case, it's a temperate glacier particularly sensitive to high temperatures."As a precautionary measure, Miserocchi ordered the closure of roads in the Val Ferret valley and the evacuation of mountain huts in the Rochefort area.

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Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/mont-blanc-glacier-collapse-intl-scli/index.html

[Lulu KC]

1. Oh Jesus

I don’t say that too often and I never write it. There are no other words.