Bad weather from north to south: one person killed in Jesolo

Bad weather across Italy. In Jesolo, in the province of Venice, a 46-year-old soldier died at dawn whilst on his way to work, after his car was struck by a fallen tree. Landslides and road closures have been reported in Tuscany (particularly in the province of Livorno and on the Island of Elba) and in Calabria. Due to heavy rain, a road collapsed in the Crotone area, causing a sinkhole at the side of the carriageway. Damage to agriculture in the province of Taranto, where a tornado devastated vineyards and marquees. Damage and building collapses caused by a storm were also reported in Caserta.

Bad weather is lashing the country from north to south, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and disruption to road conditions. The tragedy in Veneto occurred at dawn yesterday, when a tree trunk snapped and fell onto the roof of the car of the soldier who was on his way to work. Despite the immediate intervention of the emergency services, there was nothing that could be done to save the man. Due to the spell of bad weather in Venice , the MOSE system was activated for the first time this season: the tide reached 117 centimetres at the dykes and 91 in the lagoon, before settling at 88. Thanks in part to the new pumps, St Mark’s Square remained largely dry. However, a yellow alert for flooding remains in place today in some areas of the region.

From the Veneto coast to the Ligurian coast, the rain has caused further problems. In the Savona area, over 368 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours; a landslide swept a refuse collection lorry down into the valley, with no injuries reported, whilst the Aurelia road between Celle Ligure and Albissola remains closed. In Albenga, meanwhile, a landslide caused a car to plunge into a vineyard, where the driver became trapped and had to be rescued by helicopter. Disruption was also reported in Tuscany, particularly onthe island of Elba, where the rainfall caused landslides, the collapse of low walls and road closures. Several provincial roads remain closed. In Patresi, on the western side, Vincenzo Anselmi, a hotel owner, said he had never seen ‘anything like this in 65 years’.

The bad weather has not spared the south either: in the Crotone area, the fire brigade came to the aid of motorists stranded on the SS107 Silana Crotonese, which was closed at Santa Severina due to debris on the road. In Campania too, a yellow alert has been issued for bad weather until 4 pm today, with a risk of flooding and landslides. In Caserta, a wall at the tennis club collapsed, hitting a car. And in Lazio, in addition to flooded roads and traffic problems, the new intensive care unit at Anzio Hospital, which opened in June, has been flooded due to heavy rain.

Meanwhile, a tornado has uprooted hectares of vineyards and destroyed marquees in Ginosa, in the Taranto area, which, along with other parts of Puglia, has been hit by sudden storms and strong gusts of wind. This situation has raised the alarm at Coldiretti, which has drawn attention to land consumption and the abandonment of rural areas, factors which exacerbate the region’s vulnerability to extreme weather events. In Puglia, 23,747 hectares of land have been consumed in the province of Taranto, out of a regional total of approximately 160,000 hectares. According to Coldiretti, over the last 50 years in Italia, almost one in three agricultural plots has disappeared, resulting in a 30 per cent reduction in usable agricultural land. The organisation is therefore calling for the protection of agricultural heritage and fertile land, which are considered essential for safeguarding production and the future of rural communities.