The early hours of Saturday morning saw the island of Elba, in the province of Livorno, hit by strong and intense rains, which caused landslides, rock falls and flooding. Along the Parata provincial road, which connects Rio nell’Elba to Cavo, ground subsidence occurred from the embankments on the roadway, while the Civil Protection intervened to remove unsafe boulders along the provincial road to Portoferraio. The most critical situation occurred in Rio Marina, where the Riale Valley was completely submerged by water. The force of the waters transformed the valley into a river, dragging with it the cars parked in the area, despite the ban on parking in case of rain or weather warnings.
The Civil Protection is working to remove a van stuck in the Rio Ditch, and around 15 cars have already been removed. Fortunately, no intervention on the part of the Public Assistance or Mercy was necessary to provide medical aid to the people involved.
Civil Protection interventions continued throughout the morning. After a storm flooded the Riale Valley in Rio Marina, the most important intervention was the recovery of a cab van, dragged by the water which blocked the flow of water under a bridge over a ditch. The removal of the van allowed the water to flow correctly, thanks to the use of a wheeled bulldozer and harnesses.
The cars semi-immersed in the water due to flooding in the same area were also recovered, thanks to the use of an off-road vehicle which towed them away. The heavy rains also affected the south of the province of Livorno, between Piombino and Val di Cornia, where the re-enactment of the ‘1901 Piombino-Livorno’, an event for historic cars, was cancelled.
Precisely to preserve the vintage cars, all built before 1918, the gathering planned by Piombino did not follow the planned itinerary through Bolgheri, San Guido in the famous avenue of cypress trees, Cecina and Castiglioncello. Only the exhibition was held at the Terrazza Mascagni in Livorno.
