The flood that struck the island of Elba and Orbetello 'is the new normal'
Environment — di Simone Santi
The flood that struck the island of Elba, flooding streets and forcing 80 people to evacuate, "is the new normal"
The flood that struck the island of Elba and Orbetello 'is the new normal'
The flood that struck the island of Elba, flooding streets and forcing 80 people to evacuate, "is the new normal"
- 65 millimetres of rain fell on the island in one hour, with Portoferraio hit hardest.
- As many as 80 people were evacuated, including 12 from a gymnasium. People trapped in their cars were also rescued.
- Legambiente urges people not to speak of bad weather but of a climate disaster.
The island of Elba bore the brunt of the violent cloudburst that struck overnight — forecast by meteorologists for Tuscany, but which over the island took the form of a genuine, yet another flood, causing extensive damage to the environment and infrastructure and serious disruption to the population. In just a few hours, as much as 65 millimetres of rain fell, triggering widespread flooding and endangering the lives of numerous residents and tourists. The most critical situation occurred in Portoferraio, where streets turned into rivers of mud and debris.
What happened on the island of Elba
#Livorno, forte #pioggia sull'Isola d'Elba, strade allagate a Portoferraio: persone bloccate in auto o nei piani bassi di edifici, #vigilidelfuoco impegnati nei soccorsi. Via mare giunte in rinforzo altre squadre di #sommozzatori e soccorritori acquatici [#13febbraio 20:00]
The fire brigade, together with rescue teams, worked tirelessly to save dozens of people trapped in their homes and cars: in total, 80 people were rescued, among them 12 children and teachers from a dance school evacuated at the last moment. Rescue teams also reached the island from the mainland, although the cloudburst subsequently moved from the Tuscan archipelago to the Tuscan coast, in the area around Orbetello, reaching several kilometres inland — to the point that the municipality of Manciano, deep in the Maremma countryside, recorded 40 millimetres of rain in just over half an hour.
The Legambiente Tuscan Archipelago branch openly speaks of a climate disaster on the island of Elba, calling for "a rethink of land maintenance and urban planning. The names of the affected localities are by now recurring at every event of this kind: the main town of Portoferraio, the coastal hamlets of Bagnaia, Nisporto and Nisportino, the Piana della Pila — where an airport extension is being proposed in an area that has once again proven to lie in a red zone of extremely high hydrogeological risk… but landslides, mudslides and flooding have struck across virtually the whole island, torn between monsoon-like rains and hail that blanketed the road between Procchio and Marciana Marina. An anomalous situation, yet one that once again spectacularly highlights the entirely new climate we will have to contend with in the years ahead. We can no longer speak of bad weather, but of a new normal — and to this, Elba — like Italy as a whole — appears completely unprepared."