Fear on the beach. On Thursday 13 June a waterspout hit the stretch between Cervia and Milano Marittima, near Rimini. The images and videos posted on social media are impressive.
Videos and photos of the waterspout near Ravenna
There are those who took photos from Lido di Savio, those who uploaded a film like 246 Bagno Doge.
The images are remarkable:
The dramatic precedent of 2019
On Facebook, the Cervia and Milano Marittima page underlines that “in the last 5-6 years there has been a continuous succession of extreme events in our region and we are getting used to living with storms, floods and hail as big as apricots. What will the situation be like in 10 years?
Fortunately, this time, the phenomenon it didn’t make it to land.
In 2019, in fact, the cone of the waterspout had moved from the sea to the coast, causing:
- there fall (or the demolition) of more 2,200 plant;
- damage to 5 bathing establishments;
- damage to 10 private buildings.
A damage that can initially be quantified in 2 million euroscomplete with an inspection by the president of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Stefano Bonaccini.
What is a waterspout: how it is born and how dangerous it is
The waterspout forms in the presence of a particularly swollen mass of clouds that can reach 6 km in height when the water surface is hot: it is the clash with cold currents, that arrive from above, to generate the waterspout, given by swirling rotation of the air.
It visually has the shape a funnel, which can also touch the surface of the water: this can be sucked in and rotated at high speed, up to 100 km per hour.
Almost all waterspouts are a few meters in diameter, rising up to 1000 meters and they last on average between 15 and 30 minutes.
Only rarely do they reach the mainland (when it happens it is called Tornadic trumpet, with effects similar to those caused by a tornado: the waterspout is however less powerful than the terrestrial one).
Photo source: Facebook Cervia and Milano Marittima
