This morning, the Catania area experienced dramatic scenes similar to the recent ones in Valencia, with cars lifted by the violence of the waters and dragged into the sea. Numerous motorists were saved by the Fire Department, while many homes were flooded and several people were evacuated by rescuers. The intense rainfall required hundreds of interventions by the firefighters of the Catania provincial command.
The Fire Department is operating with an amphibious vehicle in the hamlet of Altarello, in Riposto, where a river has flooded, invading the ground floor of a house occupied by four people, two of whom are disabled. In Torre Archirafi alone, also in Riposto, there have been at least thirty interventions by the Fire Department. Aci Sant’Antonio saw firefighters working to rescue motorists stranded on Via Aldo Moro. On the same street, several people were trapped in a flooded supermarket. In Acireale, an intervention saved a person from a flooded home on Via Rocco Chinnici.
According to the prefecture of Catania, at the moment there are no people missing due to bad weather. The disturbance particularly affected the Ionian area, causing flooding, landslides and mudslides in the municipalities of Acireale, Giarre, Mascali and Riposto. Here the mayors activated their respective Municipal Operations Centers (Coc). In Riposto the flooding of a torrent was reported, dragging some cars into the sea; in Mascali a landslide threatened homes.
Due to flooding, the A18 motorway was closed in both directions between Giarre and Fiumefreddo. Thanks to the efforts of the traffic police and firefighters – also supported by the Cas teams – the traffic situation is slowly improving. The northbound carriageway has been reopened; however, the southbound carriageway remains closed for debris removal. The Prefecture of Catania highlighted the significant commitment of the police forces, firefighters also from Messina and Reggio Calabria, the Civil Protection and the Red Cross. These groups continue to monitor the situation on the territory while the Relief Coordination Center will remain active until the needs cease. In conclusion, while the Catania community is committed to addressing the consequences of the bad weather, attention remains high on possible future developments and on the preventive measures to be adopted to avoid similar emergencies in the future.
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