Landslides and flooding, train stops and diverted flights, roads temporarily closed and students stuck in class. Bad weather hits Liguria, plagues the Savonese and Spezzino areaswhile today it will also move to Lombardy, in Tuscany and in Emilia Romagna. A situation that the Prime Minister Giorgia Melonsfrom Brussels where he is attending the EU-Gulf countries summit and the European Council, follows with apprehension. The prime minister “spoke to the minister by telephone Civil Protection, Nello Musumeci, and the head of Civil Protection, Fabio Ciciliano, whom he asked to remain constantly informed”.
Pupils stuck yesterday in Celle Ligure
For now, it is there that pays the price for the storms that swell the rivers and cause landslides Liguria where the alert blocked the students in the institutes of Celle Ligure yesterday afternoon: the mayor Marco Beltrame ordered “the students to remain on the first floor of the schools until further notice”. “Let’s pretend we’re on red alert because the situation is quite serious– the mayor motivated the decision during the yellow weather alert issued by the regional agency for the protection of the Ligurian environment – the Ghiare torrent is worrying and a large landslide has fallen on the Aurelia”.
Saved when the rains fell
After a few hours of apprehension, the little ones returned home safe and sound as soon as the intensity of the rains subsided. The heavy rainfall caused the Bormida to overflow in the Savona area.
Trains suspended
Rail traffic was suspended between Loano and Pietra Ligure and two flights to Genoa were diverted to Pisa and Turin. Several roads in the province of Savona were closed due to flooding and fallen trees, including the Aurelia in Celle, the Colle di Cadibona road which was then reopened and closed again.
The A10 Genoa-Ventimiglia motorway traffic was banned for about an hour between Varazze and Arenzano in the direction of Genoa due to flooding. A 14 kilometer queue on the A10 between Albenga and Feglino due to a motorway construction site was worsened by the wall of water that fell in a few hours. Due to a landslide three families were evacuated to Varazze. In Albenga, a homeless man camped along the swollen Centa stream was saved by the firefighters.
In the next few hours the situation will not improve:
The orange alert has been issued in central-eastern Liguria and in many municipalities in the La Spezia area, in the Savona area, in Genoa and in numerous Ligurian municipalities from the coast to the hinterland, schools will remain closed. Pupils at home also in the Alessandria area where the yellow alert was issued and the Bormida in Alessandria is specially observed.
Lightning, hailstorms and strong gusts of wind
The bad weather today it will move over some northern and central regions and, according to forecasts, it will stay for the next 5 days: widespread and intense rainfall accompanied by lightning, hailstorms and strong gusts of wind will rage across Tuscany, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna and even Liguria.
A yellow weather alert has been issued for Milan with the risk of flooding of the two rivers Seveso and Lambro and the underpasses. Citizens were reminded that during the weather alert they should not stop near trees and construction site scaffolding, outdoor areas and tents.
