The Storm Vaia in Val Visdende

Storm Vaia was an exceptional meteorological event that occurred between October 26 and October 30, 2018. On that occasion, the wind speed reached 200 km/h, placing the event on the hurricane scale. In addition, 870 mm of rainwater fell (peak at Forni di Sotto). In addition to the Triveneto area, damage occurred, although less severe, in France, Slovenia, Austria and Switzerland. The calculated damage, in the Italian regions affected alone, amounts to almost 3 billion euros. The felling of 14 million trees, a figure never recorded in modern times in Italy, and the multiple disruptions to interrupted power lines, landslides throughout the mountain range, overflowing streams and the overflowing of Alleghe Lake have left an indelible mark on the territory that will remain for a long time. From Wikipedia.

The Comelico area was also hit by incessant winds and rains for 4 long days. In the map above, we frame the Val Visdende area which was the most affected in the area. The date of the aerial photo is 2023, and you can see the large lighter areas representing the forest of fir trees that felled in those days. At the bottom, under the map, there are two time selectors, which allow you to superimpose two other shots on the series photo, captured respectively in 2012 and 2015 when the forest was still intact, which are useful for comparing the change that occurred in a short time from the hurricane.

The map shows the main locations of Val Visdende, the so-called Borghi. By selecting them one by one, you can click on a preview image that takes you to a dedicated page, where two 360° panoramic images are published, taken 15 days before the disaster and 5 years later. The accurate view of the individual locations before and after the passage of Vaia is impressive, the territory in most of the photos has radically changed. You can access a page that contains all 17 locations for a more in-depth comparison HERE. Obviously, activating all the presentations requires a fairly powerful machine in terms of calculation.

In the Box above, I have gathered all 34 shots of the Villages of Val Visdende in a virtual tour, making the complete virtual visit possible. In each panorama of the tour, looking up, there is an extra icon that connects the panorama displayed, with its alternative version changed over time.