Italy is divided in two, with storms and floods in the North and African heat in the Center South. A downpour hit Milan yesterday morning, following having hit upper Lombardy, especially the areas of Varese and Como. Piedmont and Trentino Alto Adige were also hit by the wave of bad weather. The body of a young man dragged by the current in the Adda River, in the Lodi area, was recovered yesterday evening by firefighters, who had been reported by some passers-by. It will be necessary to clarify whether he is the 25-year-old Egyptian who disappeared on Tuesday, following diving into the river in Cassano d’Adda.
The Varese area recorded the greatest damage due to bad weather. Heavy rainfall caused flooding and the fall of several trees, while the fury of the wind tore off some sheet metal roof coverings, which ended up on the railway, with serious repercussions and disruption to train traffic. Measurements from the Prealpine Geophysical Center showed that, since midnight, almost 50 millimeters of rain had fallen on the area, with an hourly average of over 16 millimeters. Over eighty interventions by firefighters, “consisting mainly of securing roads and buildings where tall trees overturned, fallen plants and partial collapses of buildings with numerous cars involved” were reported by the Command.
The inhabitants of Como, on the other hand, woke up to find the center completely flooded. The lake, in fact, flooded right in front of the construction site of the bulkheads, bringing debris and wood into the street. Water came out of the manholes and the lakeside was closed for several hours. In Milan, a lightning storm caused panic when the bolts hit two electrical cabins on Viale Palmanova and started a fire. A thick column of smoke and a long blackout forced ATM, the public transport company, to block the circulation of the subway line 2. The same scenario occurred in Piedmont, where many roads were blocked to traffic and train traffic was interrupted, due to trees fallen on the tracks. In Vercelli, the flooding even affected the prison, with inmates finding their cells invaded by water.
Heavy showers and thunderstorms also in Alto Adige and Veneto, where the Civil Protection has extended the weather alert for the whole day today. And while the North is affected by storms, the Center-South is gripped by the heat. The weather forecast indicates a scorching weekend, with at least eleven cities marked with a red dot and temperatures of over 40 degrees. In Bologna, Campobasso, Florence, Frosinone, Latina, Perugia, Pescara, Rieti, Rome, Trieste, Viterbo and Ancona the heat caused by the African anticyclone will persist at least until Monday, when the thermometer might drop by a few degrees, but the heat wave will continue in the coming weeks.
On the Islands, however, residents and tourists are dealing not only with the heat, but also with the volcanoes. Stromboli, which has been active for days now, erupted once more on Thursday followingnoon, with a strong explosion recorded at 2:09 p.m. A cloud of steam rose into the sky, followed by a fallout of ash, to the amazement of vacationers. The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology is monitoring the situation, which is currently under control.
#Shocking #weather #Italy #divided #downpours #heat #cities #red #flag #Tempo
2024-07-13 19:06:39
