Bad weather, two missing shepherds found in Sardinia. Sicily, 190 people evacuated

The two shepherds who had been missing since this morning following the flooding of the Margiani stream in Urzulei, Ogliastra, have been found, and are in good health. Giuseppe Mulas, 65, and Francesco Moi, 22, had managed to find shelter in the 22-year-old's sheepfold, but they remained isolated and were unable to contact their relatives for the whole day, who then raised the alarm. Late in the evening, they were reached by rescuers.

The wave of bad weather that is affecting Sardinia has required the activation of the Fire Brigade on a regional scale, with about 150 interventions in total, of which about 90 are directly related to the adverse weather conditions. An official of the Regional Fire Brigade Directorate is present in the Integrated Regional Operations Room (SORI) of the Civil Protection to coordinate activities with the state and regional components and to manage reports from the territory.

The main critical situations concern fallen trees, unsafe poles and structural instabilities of building elements such as cornices, roof tiles and signs. The Operations Rooms of the provincial commands of Cagliari, Sassari, Nuoro and Oristano are sending teams into the area according to the order of priority of the emergency calls.

"Monitoring is continuous, coordination is constant and all the operational structures are fully at work". This was stated by the President of the Region of Sardinia, Alessandra Todde, who today visited the Civil Protection Directorate General's decision-making centre to bring the institution's greetings and thanks to all the people involved in monitoring and coordination activities. During the meeting, the governor, together with the councillor for the Defence of the Environment, Rosanna Laconi, and the director general of the Regional Civil Protection, Mauro Merella, took stock of the current situation, the work of the operational structures and the coordination actions with the territories involved. The municipalities in the affected areas are taking preventive measures and, where necessary, have activated the municipal operations centres (Coc), working in close coordination with the regional civil protection to guarantee the territory's control and ensure a timely and effective response. Lastly, Todde renewed the call for maximum individual responsibility: follow official information channels only, limit travel to what is strictly necessary, and adopt prudent behaviour.

The Sicilian civil protection urged mayors to sign evacuation orders in several areas, for a total of about 190 people. In Giampilieri Marina (Messina) 32 guests of the Rsa Villa Aurora, located in a seafront area, were evacuated. In Acireale (Catania), the mayor ordered the evacuation of 95 residents in the coastal hamlets of Capo Mulini and Santa Maria La Scala. In Riposto (Catania) 3 people were evacuated from homes in coastal areas. In Pachino (Syracuse), the mayor ordered the evacuation of about 40 people from dwellings in Marzamemi, while 30 people spontaneously left the contrada Granelli. At the headquarters in San Giovanni La Punta (Catania), the director general of the Civil Protection Department Salvo Cocina has set up and is heading the Advanced Operations Centre for the coordination of interventions and constant liaison with prefectures, municipalities, fire brigades, 118, Anas, the railway network, Enel and all operational structures. The President of the Region, Renato Schifani, follows the development of the events in constant contact with the director general.