Maltempo, Italia sotto la pioggia: crolla un albero su un’auto, morto un militare di 46 anni

Heavy rainfall battered the western coast of Italy on Tuesday night, triggering landslides, flooding, and road closures across the Ligurian region. The weather system, which has swept from north to south, caused severe disruption in the Savona province, where the main coastal highway was shut down after a landslide. In the Veneto region, a tree fell on a car at dawn, killing a 46-year-old soldier who was driving to work. Across the country, civil protection agencies issued orange alerts for six regions, including Liguria, parts of Piedmont, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, and Campania. Yellow alerts were active in sixteen other regions, stretching from Lombardy to Sicily. Schools closed in several areas, including Naples, parts of the provinces of Salerno, Caserta, Avellino, and Benevento, while classes were suspended until mid-afternoon in La Spezia and Anzio. In the Savona area, rain gauges recorded extraordinary accumulations over the previous day. Data from the regional monitoring network indicated 285.2 millimeters of precipitation in Lavagnola, 323.8 millimeters in Albissola Superiore, and 387.6 millimeters in Albissola Marina. These figures contributed to a total of more than 368 millimeters falling within 24 hours in the broader Savona district. The intense rainfall raised water levels significantly in the Sansobbia stream, the Rio Basco, and smaller tributaries. Local officials stated that while some streets flooded and potential hazards required close monitoring, the drainage systems held up during peak flow times, preventing serious injuries to residents. The most critical traffic issue occurred in Celle Ligure, where a landslide forced the closure of the Aurelia highway. Specialized teams, including rock climbers, began inspections at 7:00 AM to assess the stability of the slope and remove dangerous debris. Authorities confirmed that the road would remain closed until safety checks were completed. Public transport services were disrupted as a result. On Wednesday, October 21, buses on route 30 between Savona and Varazze skipped their stops in Celle. Passengers traveling toward Savona had to take a shuttle from the train station to the port of Varazze to board the bus. Those traveling in the opposite direction used the highway service to Varazze, then took a shuttle to the train station. Other roads in the province remained closed due to ongoing instability. In Varazze, Via Ceresca near number 51 was shut precautionarily following a landslide under observation. In the Stella municipality, the San Martino-Gameragna road at Campetien stayed closed indefinitely to allow crews to secure three separate slides along the stretch. Power outages affected Via degli Orti and neighboring districts in Albisola, leaving many households without electricity. Multiple underpasses and streets across the province suffered from flooding. Agricultural damage emerged in the Albenga plain, where the floriculture sector faced renewed threats. Reports from local agricultural associations described fields submerged by water and thousands of pots washed away by currents. Officials noted that plants left underwater risked dying, leading to significant financial losses for businesses. Representatives from the local branch of Coldiretti stated they were collecting reports to determine the full extent of the damage. They highlighted images showing flooded fields and displaced inventory, warning that companies could lose crops they had invested considerable time and labor into cultivating. Elsewhere in Italy, the storm caused fatalities and infrastructure failures. In Jesolo, near Venice, Matteo Ambu, a 46-year-old army sergeant originally from Cagliari and resident of Cavallino-Treporti, died when a tree collapsed onto his vehicle around 6:00 AM. He was heading to work at the Northern Territorial Command in Padua. Regional President Luca Zaia expressed condolences to Ambu’s wife and two children, describing the loss as immense. Rescue efforts failed to save him despite immediate intervention. In Venice, the Mose flood barrier system was activated for the first time this season. High tides reached 117 centimeters at the barriers and 91 centimeters in the lagoon before settling at 88 centimeters. Thanks to new pumping systems, St. Mark's Square remained mostly dry. However, yellow alerts for hydraulic risks persisted in parts of the region through Thursday. Tuscany experienced severe impacts, particularly on the island of Elba. Over 180 millimeters of rain fell in six hours in Marciana, exceeding average monthly totals. Landslides, wall collapses, and road interruptions forced the closure of several provincial roads. Vincenzo Anselmi, a hotel owner in Patresi, stated he had never witnessed such conditions in 65 years. In southern Italy, firefighters rescued drivers stranded on State Road 107 in the Crotone area, where the road was closed at Santa Severina due to debris. In Campania, a yellow alert warned of flooding and landslides until 4:00 PM the following day. In Caserta, a tennis club wall collapsed onto a car. In the Lazio region, heavy rains flooded the newly opened intensive care unit at the hospital in Anzio, which had opened in June. Water entered the facility extensively, dripping from ceiling lights and posing electrical shock risks to staff and patients. Medical workers used available linens to try to contain the water. This incident followed a similar, though less severe, event during a previous storm. In Sardinia, sound-absorbing panels in a kindergarten ceiling in Sassari gave way after becoming saturated with water from the previous day's rains. In Puglia, a tornado uprooted hectares of vineyards and tents in Ginosa. Coldiretti also commented on the vulnerability of rural areas, noting that soil consumption in the province of Taranto alone amounted to 23,747 hectares. The organization cited data suggesting that nearly one-third of Italy's agricultural land has disappeared in the last fifty years, reducing usable farmland by 30 percent. Meteorologists predicted the Atlantic disturbance would weaken by evening as it moved toward the Balkans, with temperatures dropping slightly but remaining mild for the season.