Storms, flooding and landslides: bad weather is scary in the South

Storms, floods, landslides. Bad weather continues to plague various regions, especially in the South. Among the most critical situations is that of Lipari where the streams overflowed, carrying debris and mud: dozens of houses were flooded. Also in Sicily, about ten families remain displaced after the tornadoes in the Trapani area. Water bomb in Reggino, while in Bari heavy rains caused the flooding of the Basilica of San Nicola.

And again in Puglia, Salento is also hit by bad weather where schools have remained closed. There is also an alert in Campania where the incessant rains risk causing landslides due to the fragility of the soil in some areas of the region. The situation is also difficult in lower Lazio where two municipalities on the coast, Anzio and Nettuno, are requesting a state of calamity. The situation should improve already on Sunday even if, in some areas, such as in central-southern Puglia, the orange alert remains.

Difficult day on the island of Lipari, with dozens of flooded homes, stuck cars, mud in many streets. The Ponte and Valle streams flooded with debris which also ended up on the beach and in the sea. "I am in constant contact with the mayor of Lipari and the prefect of Messina to have an updated picture of the situation", assured the minister for Civil Protection and Maritime Policies, Nello Musumeci.

In Calabria, where rains and storms have hit the entire region, the most critical situation is that of Melito di Porto Salvo, in Reggino. "The town is on its knees - explains the mayor Tito Nastasi -. There was a water bomb, the cars reached the sea and there were fallen walls. We are without roads. I am officially requesting a state of natural disaster".

The impact on the ground of the violent storms of these hours caused the collapse of a centuries-old pine tree near one of the hospital exits inside the Cardarelli hospital in Naples. The hospital management announced that it "promptly made the area safe and guaranteed normal traffic within the hospital". Also reported in the city is the opening of a sinkhole, with a diameter of approximately five metres, caused by the storms of recent days, in the Materdei district. She ended up inside a car that was passing at the time; There was a young man driving who was unharmed.

With bad weather, cultural heritage is also at risk. Undersecretary of Culture Lucia Borgonzoni assures us that we are "monitoring the conditions of the heritage present on the national territory which is located in areas affected by bad weather. At the moment there is only one episode of damage, in the archaeological area of ​​Castro", in the province of Lecce.

The bad weather of these hours would be linked to the high temperature of the surface of the Mediterranean Sea, reached due to the thermal excess accumulated in the summer months. "This energy reserve in the form of steam and heat favors the development of organized storm systems, locally intense rainfall and even tornadoes", explains Lorenzo Tedici, meteorologist at iLMeteo.it.