The island of Elba devastated by the storm: “It is climatic disaster”

THE’Elba Island He woke up this morning with the wounds still open after the Violent storm that hit her on the evening of Thursday 13 February. In just over an hour, the sky has poured 65 millimeters of rain, transforming the roads in streams and sowing panic among the population.

Portoferraiothe capital, was the most affected area. The images spread on social networks show an flooded historic center, with the water that has invaded shops and homes. Submersed cars, debris and mud they completed the apocalyptic scenario. Particularly affected by Einaudi, where a landslide occurred, and the Volterraio road, made impractical by landslides. The coastal hamlets of Bagnaia, Nisporto and Nisportino were affected by flooding and landslides, with interruption of road connections.

The firefighters intervened promptly, carrying out several rescues in extremis. Three people were rescued by their homes, now invaded by the water, while 28 more were rescued along the main roadblocked inside their cars. The divers of the firefighters patrolled the flooded areas all night, looking for any missing. In total, 80 people have been rescued or evacuated. Luckily, .

The mayor of Portoferraio, Tiziano Nocentini, said the state of emergency flood And he invited the population to limit movements.

The schools were closed to allow safety operations. The Municipality has set up a municipal coordination center with 20 volunteers and 10 means to manage the emergency. From the Prefecture of Livorno let it know that The damages concerned in particular several cars and some flooded shops.

But the storm that hit the Elba is not an isolated case. Very intense rains have affected all of Tuscanywith flooding and landslides also in Maremma. 109 millimeters of rain fell to Orbetellocausing the flooding of ditches and streams. The Mignone River is set out in Tarquiniain Viterbo, trapping some families in their homes.

As he points out Legambiente Archipelago Toscano“”. The environmental association points the finger against the management of the territory and urban planning, which do not take into account the ongoing climate change.

“The climate disaster responded ‘safety’ areas and then loading them again concrete and asphalt that have created a new situation of insecurity“, Legambiente denounces. “The lesser lattice of streams and I was that marked our island was abandoned, canceled and built to make room for houses and roads”.

The Association asks for a change of course, a district plan for the care and restoration of the territory that takes into account the climate “new normality”. “We should declare the climatic emergency in each municipality and behave accordingly, and instead, Dry the water and the mud is frozen, continue to do as before and worse than before“.

Legambiente’s appeal is clear: “a new public idea of ​​the protection of security common at the time of climate change is needed”. An appeal that, after yet another disaster, can no longer be ignored.