Civil Protection of the Piedmont Region (Protezione civile della Regione Piemonte)

The Civil Protection of the Piedmont Region (Protezione civile della Regione Piemonte) is the regional administrative body responsible for coordinating prevention, monitoring and emergency management activities across Piedmont. It relies on an Operations Room that follows the evolution of weather and hydrogeological events in real time, keeping in contact with local authorities, Municipal Operations Centres (COC) and the civil protection system spread across the territory.

Functions and organisation

The regional Operations Room coordinates liaison between Piedmont's provinces and municipalities during alert phases, gathering reports concerning watercourses, road infrastructure, schools and dams. Monitoring covers in particular the water levels of streams and rivers in the main and secondary network, with pre-alert and alert thresholds set for the various watercourses and for artificial reservoirs in the region ^[1][2].

The bad-weather spell of 20–21 October 2026

Between the afternoon of 20 October and the morning of 21 October 2026 a spell of bad weather affected the whole of Piedmont, with the strongest effects in the southern areas bordering Liguria. The Operations Room of the Piedmont Region's Civil Protection activated monitoring of watercourses and reports coming in from the various provinces ^[1][2].

During the event the Erro stream, at Cartosio, exceeded the pre-threshold level, while the Orba, at Tiglieto, went beyond the alert level; the Sesia, Cervo and San Bernardino remained below the pre-threshold. At 9am on 21 October, 47 Municipal Operations Centres were open, 18 in the Province of Alessandria, 24 in the Cuneo area, 4 in the Asti area and 1 in the Biella area. Reports included the Lovassina stream overflowing, the closure of some schools in the Alessandria area and the closure of Provincial Road 594 at Quinto Vercellese for checks on the bridge over the Cervo stream. Pre-alert status was also activated for the Ortiglieto, Riofreddo, Sessera and Quarazza dams, and alert status for the Gurzia dam ^[1][2].

As the low-pressure system gradually moved beyond the Alps, the situation improved during the morning. The highest rainfall totals exceeded 180 millimetres in the Biella area and 170 in the Alessandria area. More than a hundred volunteers monitored the event's progress in the field. The Gurzia dam moved back from alert to pre-alert status, and the Municipal Operations Centres began closing from late morning. With no new reports of critical conditions, the regional Operations Room ended its monitoring at 4pm on 21 October 2026 ^[1][2].

Timeline

• 21 October 2026 — The Operations Room of the Piedmont Region's Civil Protection ends at 4pm the monitoring activities launched for the bad-weather spell that hit the region between 20 and 21 October. → TorinoOggi Quotidiano Piemontese

Sources

1. Maltempo in attenuazione: chiude la sala operativa della Protezione civile della Regione Piemonte — TorinOggi, 21 October 2026
2. Tregua dal maltempo: chiude la sala operativa della Protezione civile della Regione Piemonte — Quotidiano Piemontese, 21 October 2026