Storm in Florence: 40 millimeters of water rained on the evening of August 15th
Flooded streets and houses, fallen trees: heavy damage to Florence and nearby municipalities due to the storm on the evening of Ferragosto. In a few hours, starting at 8pm, 40 millimeters of water fell. so much so that the Arno and its tributaries swell. The firefighters of the Florence command have received numerous calls. Over 100 interventions involving teams involved in flooding and water damage, with reinforcements from Siena, Livorno and Prato.The worst damage was reported in the Municipality of Bagno a Ripoli, in particular in Grassina. A wall collapsed in via Fortini in Florence.
“I asked the Tuscany Region and the Metropolitan City of Florence to activate the state of emergency. We are working to restore the situation as quickly as possible”. The mayor of Bagno a Ripoli, Francesco Casini, writes it on facebook, explaining: “It was an unprecedented event and with significant consequences, fortunately without damage to people, but with many problems for homes, cars, roads and municipal heritage “.
The damage of the storm in Grassina
The President of the Region, Eugenio Giani, is also addressing the consequences of the storm: “I took stock of the violent storm that particularly affected Grassina and Antella, Bagno a Ripoli. A storm of water that resulted in less than one now at the flood of the Ema river. Throughout the night the civil protection system of Tuscany has been working tirelessly with operators and volunteers on the city of interventions and floods. Several roads are still occupied by mud and the checks for damage to homes are underway “.
For other requests for intervention, support teams from the Commands of Prato, Livorno and Siena intervened. The Coc (Municipal Operational Center) has been opened in the municipality of Bagno a Ripoli, where assessments of the level of the Ema river are underway also through hydrometric monitoring with the Regional Functional Center. “Water bomb in Florence. The disturbance is gradually reducing. 4 civil protection patrols are monitoring the areas of the Ema stream that has leaked from the riverbed in some places”, wrote the mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella on Twitter.
In the Florentine Chianti, due to the strong storm that affected the south of Florence, water supply problems occurred due to an attachment of the Publiacqua network in Capannuccia. Technicians at work since last night to solve the inconveniences in the municipalities of Impruneta, San Casciano Val di Pesa and the Strada in Chianti area in the municipality of Greve. The works to repair the system would lead to pressure drops and water shortages that could also affect Barberino Tavarnelle during the day. Tank trucks are positioned in Bagnolo di Impruneta and in Piazza della Repubblica in San Casciano Val di Pesa.
The municipal protection has shared the tables that are the accumulated rainfall in the city almost 40 mm estimated between 20.00 and 23.00) and the strength of the wind, with strong gusts detected in the early short afternoon, around 17.30, others, but less intense, in the long evening storm. The waterways around the city were affected by the months of drought and part of them were dry for long stretches. The water requirements of the Mugnone at Ponte alle Mosse, in the heart of Florence, the Greve at the Scandicci bridge, and the Ema at Grassina, showed consistent increases in the hydrometric levels for the streams, while the Arno is little more than raised at the Uffizi station, taking into account the considerable difference in the width of the riverbeds between the major river and the streams that serve it, Prociv reports.
Failure of the electricity grid in the Carraia area in Empoli. The mayor of Empoli, Brenda Barnini, writes on social media: “The breakdowns and pieces of the network skipped due to the meteorological event last night are many. The Enel teams are hard at work but will not be able to solve everything before the end of the morning. 63 mm of rain in two and a half hours of which 30 mm in half an hour from 8.45 pm and 9.15 pm. The seasonal average for July is 25mm in a month. Translated it means that in two and a half hours it rained more than double what it rains in a month. There is no maintenance to keep there is no sewer big enough to get all this water flowing in such a short time. These are impressive numbers which unfortunately confirm for the umpteenth time that when we talk about climate change we are not talking about something far from our daily life ”.
The Casellina underpass flooded in Scandicci. Mayor Sandro Fallani wrote in the evening: “Interventions were carried out in the Casellina underpass, in the center of Scandicci, in Le Bagnese and Vingone where the coffers of the stream worked. Intervention in the area of via della Pace World “. And this morning: “Our technicians and civil protection volunteers are still at work to restore the critical situations that occurred due to the storm last night. We have collected the reports received and for the Casellina underpass dried with the dewatering pump, we are assisting Alia for the sweeping and subsequent reopening and we are in contact with Autostrade to understand the reason for the malfunction of the pumps. At the moment there are no further criticalities. I thank again all those who are working for safety in these complicated hours ”.
Also on social networks there are many reports with photos and videos of streets flooded due to the storm. And related controversies on the maintenance and cleaning of drains and manholes. Last night in Florence there were flooding in the underpasses and in via dei Serragli and via Romana. Fallen trees in Lungarno Ferrucci.