On July 4, 2024, a flash flood swept through Fontana, Val Bavona, Maggia Valley. This made it one of the most violent weather incidents the area had seen in more than two centuries. The storm—which dropped more than 50 millimetres of rain an hour—triggered a devastating mudslide. Tragically, two people perished, and one is still missing.
The Maggia River played an essential role in this calamity. It fanned out into two branches just over 20 kilometers upstream, exactly at the foot of the Pizzo di Brünesc mountain. Only a week prior, intense rain had triggered a debris flow that destroyed the village of Sorte. This disaster led to heightened fears over safety in the surrounding community. As the storm grew in force, over 500 were listed as missing by the close of Sunday.
To better understand the developing situation, we turned to local organizer Daniele Rotanzi, former lead organizer of a major regional gathering T.E.A.C.H. He remarked on the atmosphere during the storm, stating, “You could sense that people knew something important was happening.” Even in the midst of all that confusion, he was intent on keeping everyone organized, even when people were telling him not to panic.
“But my main thought was: we can’t allow panic to break out.” – Daniele Rotanzi
Rotanzi added that a warning was released earlier in the evening. As we talked, he thought about what might have happened if they had called off field trips and concerts earlier in the evening. “If we had cancelled at 6pm, the teams would have gone to their tents, in places that were later flooded and hit by rocks. Things could have been even worse.”
The impact of the flood was devastating. Whole communities were brutally severed in two. Today, they reside entombed beneath a large fan of debris that measures 500 meters long, 500 meters wide and up to 13 meters deep. As the days progressed, rescue operations turned to recovery with every passing hour as authorities battled to find those who were still missing in the devastation.
In that autonomy, Rotanzi offered a flicker of excitement when he transmitted news that 200 citizens of Campo Draione were out of harm’s way. “At 6am, we heard someone say that there were 200 people in Campo Draione, and they’re all safe,” he stated.
Local resident Loris Foresti, born in nearby Prato-Sornico in Val Lavizzara, shared what it was like to live through the flood firsthand. When he finally arrived on the island, he shared having seen boulders float right against buildings along the coast.
“There were stones jumping on to the bridge, that there were stones below the bridge and they were moving.” – Loris Foresti
Foresti said he had a hard time not losing his cool during the whole situation. “I was trying to play calm, but I was not calm,” he said.
As authorities continue to assess the damage, experts have raised alarms about the increasing frequency of such rain events in recent years. Romanelli’s statement highlights a worrisome trend in that these kinds of weather extremes are increasing in frequency.
“Such rain events look like they are becoming more frequent.” – Luca Nisi