PADUA – «The data tells us that from a statistical point of view in Padua an event of this kind is repeated once every 100 years». It was just after four in the afternoon when the deputy mayor Andrea Micalizzi had just finished a meeting in the Prefecture with the ARPAV technicians and the mayors of the Padua municipalities most affected by the bad weather. Since Wednesday night, Palazzo Moroni’s number two, delegate for public works and civil protection, has been coordinating the work of the teams. There are hundreds of interventions in every corner of the city.
How is the situation?
“Very serious. We have equipped ourselves to minimize the risks of the Bacchiglione flooding. We sent messages to the population and positioned ourselves in Paltana, warning residents of the area door to door. A Civil Protection team with a mobile unit is also present in the area. The sports facilities at risk, therefore Rarinates and Canottieri, were then alerted.”
Rarely have such widespread flooding been seen in the city.
«They were concentrated above all in the western area of the city, therefore between Brusegana, Cave and Chiesanuova. However, there was no shortage of inconveniences in Torre, Ponte di Brenta, Arcella and Guizza. Having said that, in the night between Wednesday and Thursday, 90 millimeters of water hit the city in less than two hours.”
Almost a record.
«Statistically, a precipitation of this type is recorded every 100 years. The three pumps present in our territory, therefore Barriera Saracinesca, Ca’Nordio and Fossetta, disposed of two million cubic meters of water in a very short time.”
A major atmospheric event had already occurred in the city a month ago.
«During the storm last month the same pumps had disposed of 800 cubic meters of water per second, on this occasion we reached 1800».
The Brusegana rolling basin which in the past saved the neighborhood and, more generally, the western area of the city, apparently was not sufficient. A few steps from the basin, in via Santi Fabiano e Sebastiano, there were 40 centimeters of water all morning. And in the city there are countless underpasses that have flooded.
«The basin worked at full capacity, but the quantity of water was such that some flooding, especially in the lower areas, was inevitable. As for the underpasses, as always they are the first to go under water when there is heavy rainfall. Then there was the problem that in some areas of the city the electricity was cut off and this meant that the hydraulic pumps could not be used.”
How many interventions were there by the Civil Protection?
«Between Wednesday night and this morning (Thursday, ed.) the six teams we deployed received around 200 requests for intervention. This is an immense job and I truly thank everyone.”
What suggestions do you give citizens?
«We recommended that people in Padua shelter people, animals and things from exposed areas and we always recommend staying informed about weather conditions by subscribing to the “Comune Alert” service».
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Read the full article at
The Gazzettino
