Severe bad weather in Italy. After the inconveniences on Monday in Sicily, the worst situation in these hours concerns Emilia Romagnawhich issued the red alert for water and hydrogeological criticalities also for the whole day tomorrow”, and Marche. Hundreds of people evacuated, cars stuck in underpasses, rivers in flood. On the official website, the Civil Protection explains simple rules on how to prevent or reduce the damage caused by certain phenomena because “knowing a phenomenon is the first step in learning how to deal with it in the most correct way and how to defend yourself against possible dangers”.
In Romagna the the most problematic situation currently concerns the aforementioned Riccione where was the railway station closed and where is it the emergency room was also flooded of the hospital. In viale La Spezia, around noon, the firefighters had to use rubber dinghies to save two disabled people who were in danger of drowning. Under observation further the Ravenna area and Romagna, the Bolognese area, the Modena plain, the hilly and mountainous areas of central Emilia. The accumulation of water in the 48 hours could reach the total value of 150 millimeters of rain with the rainfall continuing until tomorrow. Meanwhile I am in the Region ten rivers that have exceeded the alert threshold 3, of high criticality: these are Idice, Samoggia, Ausa, Uso, Montone, Marzeno, Voltre, Savio, Pisciatello and Marecchia. The regional councilor for civil protection, Irene Priolo explains it.
Some Fire Brigade teams are intervening in Monterenzio, in the Bolognese area, due to a mudslide that affected a housing complex. The firefighters themselves communicated it, who also explained that the teams carried out an evacuation of 10 people and that there are no injuries. The local police and 118 operators are on site. Furthermore, according to what was published by the municipal administration on its website, in the locality of “Mulino” in Savazza the Idice river overflowed causing a partial flooding of via Idice and via Portola was also flooded. Here the firefighters evacuated, as a precaution, 12 families from via Idice, temporarily housed in the “Villa Glory” rest home.
📆 Tuesday #May 16th
🔔🔴#redalert in Emilia-Romagna
🔔🟠#ORANGE alert in Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Campania and Sicily
🔔🟡#allertaGIALLA in 14 regions
⛈🌬️ Storms and winds up to a storm from North to South. Weather warning #May 15th 👉 https://t.co/4AIAuJc6BV #civil protection pic.twitter.com/3CK8q38X7p— Civil Protection Department (@DPCgov) May 15, 2023
Evacuated flood areas from two weeks ago
The rivers are rising throughout Emilia Romagna, while it continues to rain insistently. I am 901 evacuated today in Emilia-Romagna, many of them in areas already affected by the flood two weeks ago. Most, 528, in the Ravenna area; another 199 in the province of Bologna, 164 in the Forlì-Cesena area, 10 in the Modena area and three in the Reggio area. Other evacuations of areas at risk of flooding are underway, organized by the municipalities, such as in Mercato Saraceno. The Region explains it and adds that several hundred volunteers from the Civil Protection are active in the area region, in addition to the 927 volunteers of the mobile columns of Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Autonomous Province of Trento and national organizations. In addition to the 22 soldiers of Foce Reno, 91 inter-force patrols, 30 local police patrols, about 60 firefighters also with amphibious vehicles as well as mobile columns from the region.
Flooded Riccione (Ansa)
Cervia and Ravenna: closed beaches
As a precautionary measure, the Municipalities of Ravenna and Cervia have issued an order prohibiting access to the beaches. The prohibition is valid for everyone except for the owners of bathing establishments (and other state-owned concessions), for personnel engaged in coastal defence, for volunteers and for all personnel engaged in monitoring and civil protection activities. It is absolutely forbidden to enter the water and practice water sports.
Landslides in the Apennines, other evacuations in the Forlì area
Others evacuated to the Forlì Apennines due to the damage caused by the bad weather. In Dovadola the mayor, Francesco Tassinari, issued the order for two families residing in the Trove area due to landslides. A few hundred bags of sand are arriving from the Civil Protection which will be used to avoid flooding in a residential area close to some accumulation tanks, now one step away from overflowing. In Modigliana the local companies are closed from 12 and they will remain so until tomorrow. In Meldola, according to mayor Roberto Cavallucci, the most dangerous situation is in the area of the town of Voltre, where the river has overflowed in some points. Critical situation also in Predappio, where a provincial road has been closed, there are flooded roads and houses threatened by the rising water level. In Forlì, the Municipality orders the closure of educational services throughout the territory for tomorrow, including schools of all levels vocational training centres, youth aggregation centres, day centers for the elderly and disabled, socio-occupational centres, school gymnasiums and municipal sports facilities (excluding Pala Galassi), all decentralized libraries, civic museums of Palazzo Romagnoli and San Domenico and Oratory of San Sebastiano.
Fear for the Misa river in Senigallia, “go to the upper floors”
Flooded streets in Senigallia, where the sewage system immediately went into trouble, from the early hours of the morning, causing widespread flooding in various areas of the city. Door-to-door collection suspended, waste collection centers closed. Numerous underpasses in the historic center have also been closed, including those to access the seafront; streets like streams in the districts of Cesanella, Vallone, Borgo Bicchia, Saline. Mayor Massimo Olivetti has ordered the closure of some flooded underpasses. “The situation is under control and is being monitored constantly,” he said after completing a tour of the city. Then she urged her fellow citizens to “go to the upper floors of the houses”. The however, the Misa River has crossed the threshold inland, in Serra de’ Conti; all the schools in the Senigallia area have been closed. Road flooding is also reported in Arcevia, Camerano, Osimo and Jesi.
In Friuli gusts of wind at 116 kilometers per hour
The bora has returned in the night and this morning in Trieste it blows with very sustained gusts, up to 116 kilometers per hour, while the average wind is around 70 kmh with discomfort in the city centre. According to forecasts by Osmer, the meteorological observatory of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the bora will blow mainly in the morning. Many interventions by the local police and firefighters and the local police but for minor problems and small inconveniences caused by falling branches and unsafe ledges.
In the Marche at least 50 interventions by the firefighters
From the early hours of the day, various interventions have been underway due to the perturbation that is crossing the Marche region. At 10, the fire brigade said, approx 50 interventions especially for fallen branches or trees on the roadway and a drainage of a basement in the Jesi area. “At the moment – the firefighters still communicate – no particular criticalities have been reported”. In the Ancona area, sudden gusts of rain are followed by moments of calm and even a few rays of sunshine and the evolution of the meteorological situation is very fluid.
Flooding in the Palermo area and schools closed
Long night of work for the firefighters of the provincial command of Palermo. Dozens of interventions carried out for flooding in the Sicilian capital and in the province between Bagheria, Cefalù and Lascari. A large pine tree fell in via Crispi in front of the provincial headquarters of the Guardia di Finanza of Palermo. Several fire crews worked to clear the road and avoid further disruption in a section where maintenance work has been underway for weeks on the underpass which is congesting traffic in the port area.