The regional civil protection plan was launched in view of the intense rainfall expected especially in eastern Sicily. The plan will remain in effect for the next few days. Heavy and abundant rains are expected, hailstorms possible, strong gale winds and intense storm surges on the exposed coasts.
Schools closed tomorrow in Catania and Acireale. The decision was made by the mayors in the light of the Civil Protection bulletins on the weather conditions of the next few hours in eastern Sicily. “I will arrange the closure of schools of all levels in the municipal area – says the mayor of Catania Salvo Pogliese -. The impossibility of predicting exactly the time and moment in which the peak of the violent phenomena announced will occur requires us all to maximum caution, for the sake of our boys and girls, school workers and the entire teaching staff “. According to the mayor, the closure of the schools will make traffic more manageable and will allow the Civil Protection to intervene also in a preventive function, on the territory and precisely with the monitoring of the school buildings most at risk.
With the red alert, schools also closed in Syracuse, Sciacca, Enna, Taormina and Santa Teresa Riva. In Messina, the university also closes. The municipalities most at risk have opened operational centers. All civil protection volunteers are on pre-alarm and have started to monitor the points at risk of flooding, landslides and storm surges. The residents of the municipalities were informed and asked to stay at home and go out only if strictly necessary.
Due to the weather alert, all activities in the Catania vaccination hub in via Forcile will be suspended. Stop also at the drive in of Acireale. Both the swab drive-ins and the vaccine hub will resume normal activity as soon as the alert has ceased. People who were booked in via Forcile will be able to administer the vaccine in the next few days, presenting themselves directly to the vaccination hub. It is not necessary to make a new reservation.
“The stop – explains the commissioner for the Covid emergency, Pino Liberti – was necessary to protect both users and operators. We apologize for the inconvenience, but it is a temporary stop. The other vaccination hubs are closed in the afternoon, but they could also remain closed tomorrow. We will follow the instructions given by the regional civil protection “.
Numerous calls have already arrived at the operations room of the fire brigade of the provincial command of Catania. Most of the rescue interventions concern unsafe trees and poles, detachment of plaster, unsafe cornices and water infiltrations. The areas most affected are those south of the city. All the teams of the provincial command and the voluntary detachments of Linguaglossa, Vizzini and Maletto are involved.
Red alert also in Calabria
We are preparing for the arrival of bad weather even in Calabria. Main affected areas, Reggio and its Ionian ridge for which the Civil Protection Department has issued a red alert for hydraulic and hydrogeological risk. What is worrying is not only the rainfall, but also the possible impact on the territory, impoverished by the incidents of the summer just passed. From this evening and for the whole day of tomorrow, widespread rainfall is expected, which locally may be very intense and accompanied by hailstorms, lightning and strong winds. Storm winds are also expected, especially on the Ionian sectors, with strong storm surges along the exposed coasts.
At the moment there are no particular inconveniences, however, the metropolitan mayor of Reggio Calabria, Giuseppe Falcomatà, has decided to close the schools anyway. On the other hand, there will be an orange alert for the rest of the region tomorrow, while the wave of bad weather should affect the Tyrrhenian area as early as Tuesday.
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