Bad weather, the alert is raised in Veneto: red alert in several basins for 24 hours
"Impressive showers", rain up to 229 mm in 6 hours. President Zaia invites citizens to be cautious.
BOLOGNA – The Civil Protection of Veneto has issued an update notice of hydrogeological and hydraulic criticality, validfrom 12pm today to 2pm tomorrow, which increases the state of alert strong>up to the alarm levelin much of the regional territory. The weather forecast indicates a new unstable-disturbed phase for the afternoon with widespread precipitation, mainly showers and thunderstorms moving from the south-west towards the north-east; probable locally intense phenomena between the plains and the Prealps (strong showers, local hailstorms and strong gusts of wind) with even abundant quantities of precipitation during the most organized and insistent convective systems. General thinning and attenuation of the phenomena in the late evening.
WHERE IS THE RED ALERT
Due to the hydraulic criticality a state of alarm (red) has been decreed in the Alto Brenta basins – acchiglione-Alpone and Basso Brenta–Bacchiglione, and a state of pre-alarm (orange) in the Livenza, Lemene and Tagliamento basins, attention on the rest of the basins except for the upper Piave (green). As regards the hydrogeological criticality: state of alarm (red) in the Po, Fissero-Tartaro-CanalBianco and Basso Adige basins; of the Lower Brenta-Bacchiglione; of the Lower Piave, Sile and the lagoon drainage basin; pre-alarm status (orange) in all the rest of the regional basins. The hydrogeological alert for storms in all the river basins of the Veneto is maximum with the exception of the upper Piave area of Belluno. In consideration of the rainfall that has occurred and is forecast, the Civil Protection recommends paying particular attention to the hydraulic rods relating to the Basins of the Brenta, Bacchiglione, Retrone, Alpone, Chiampo, Fratta-Gorzone rivers as well as the Adige river, and those of Eastern Veneto (Monticano, Meschio, Livenza Tagliamento).
PRESIDENT ZAIA: MOMENT OF OBJECTIVE DIFFICULTY
Rain of up to 229 millimeters in six hours, with peaks of 70 in half an hour, and 148 on the plains… “Impressive showers” with the effect of “significant damage, three embankment breaches” (Castelnuovo, Isola Vicentina and Valverla), a couple of bridges “gone” to Malo, “landslides and various messes…”. In short, “a moment of objective difficulty” which has lasted in Veneto since yesterday and which president Luca Zaia summarizes thus: “we didn’t expect a flood in mid-May. It was an unusual event”, which has been getting worse hour by hour since yesterday until we had to request the activation of the crisis unit and declare a state of emergency. A phase that “is putting us in difficulty” so much so as to become the ‘”the only time we have opened all the rolling basins”, but the “news is that thanks to the rolling basins we have avoided a disaster…”.
In Vicenza, the Ponte degli Angeli saw the water at its highest, little more “and today in Vicenza the firefighters were going around with the dinghy”. There have been widespread flooding in the lower Padua area, the Vicenza area has suffered, there are many flooded basements… But thanks to the hydraulic works (the six rolling basins are partially full), which the Veneto claims as a source of pride and a model, the water bombs did indeed hit but the territory ‘withstood’. Zaia however invites the Venetians to document the damage with photos and then start the procedures for refreshments.
It is true that once again the impact of climate change is being experienced first-hand. Phenomena such as the one witnessed “in May do not appear”, highlights the councilor for Civil Protection Giampaolo Bottacin. The peaks of 70 millimeters of water in half an hour are “quantities enormous and we have no memory of such copious rainfall in 30 years“.
“DON’T TAKE PHOTOS OF FLOOD RIVERS, BE CAREFUL”
And given that forecasts are still critical, Zaia makes a “prayer to citizens to be cautious “, asks to “avoid going out and traveling long distances”, and not to find yourself in the middle of a downpour or on a street that floods at least until tomorrow. Make movements as strictly necessary”, he says, but “without spreading alarmism” and reiterating that you must not go and take photos along the banks of rivers in flood. The forecasts for the next few hours, says the president of Veneto, “require us to say to be very careful, don’t take photos of rivers in flood, there is always the risk of the banks breaching” and in general “we will have a battle” from a weather point of view, “until tomorrow and then we’ll see how it goes”. Among the topics touched upon by Zaia also the problem of badgers and nutria responsible for the weakening of the banks which have faltered “I am not on a crusade against nutria, but the health and safety of citizens come first… “, he says. Other inconveniences and problems derive from the fact that the rainwater drainage network in many places dates back to the 1950s and is therefore not able to absorb the quantities of rain that fall now.
WIDESPREAD FLOODING, HERE’S WHERE:
The bad weather situation in Veneto is evolving. We reportwidespread flooding in the provinces of Vicenza (24 municipalities affected), Verona (11 municipalities affected from Monteforte d’Alpone to Legnano), Padua (26 municipalities affected from Padua to the entire lower Padua area) and Venice (16 municipalities interested parties including the capital). Three riverbank breaches occurred in the Vicenza area. The Orolo broke the embankment in the municipality of Isola Vicentina on the orographic right upstream of the basin. The flooding of the Aldegà river in Zimella and another on the Timonchio in Villaverla and the flooding of the Ronego canal in the Municipality of Pojana Maggiore were reported . There were also three embankment breaches in the Verona area. In particular, the breach of the embankment of the Guà river between the municipalities of Zimella and Cologna Veneta was reported. There were also numerous damaged bridges and damage to road infrastructure. Since yesterday evening, over 100 Civil Protection teams have been involved, with more than 400 men in the area, plus technicians, regional staff, volunteers and firefighters. In the face of definite rainfall ” exceptional” which hit especially in the Vicenza, Verona and Padua areas (in the Piedmont area of Vicenza and Verona there was an average of 180 millimeters of water, with peaks of 229 in six hours), it was decided to open the lamination basins. All the basins in the Vicenza area – Montebello, Caldogno, Trissino, Orolo and Viale Diaz – and also one in the Verona area, that of the Colombaretta. It was the first real test for some of these. Due to the state of alert due to bad weather, the ‘Corri