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The provisional toll of the consequences of the floods that have hit Tuscany since late afternoon yesterday, Thursday 2 November, is three dead, two people in Montemurlo (Prato) and one in Rosignano (Livorno).
The first victim is an 85-year-old man, Alfio Ciolini, who died in his home in Montemurlo, in via Riva 21, in the hamlet of Bagnolo, where the Bagnolo torrent overflowed. The elderly man with walking difficulties was found in the living room, lifeless in the water that had invaded the apartment. The 85-year-old was unable to reach the upper floors as the water rose in level.
The other death in Montemurlo is of an 84-year-old woman in via Garda, struck by an illness. "A death that does not appear to be directly linked to the bad weather at this time", wanted to clarify the mayor Simone Calamai. The elderly woman apparently felt ill while she was shoveling water from her home in Montemurlo.
Another elderly man, a guest of a private nursing home, died last night in Rosignano. The man died during the transfer operations of the hospitalized patients that the firefighters were carrying out due to the flooding of the ground floor of the health facility, located along the provincial road 206 at the Orciano junction and due to the danger that a ditch near the building would overflow.
The mayor of Rosignano Marittimo, Daniele Donati, explained that it is not yet clear whether the elderly man died as a result of direct causes of the flooding or of natural causes. When the firefighters intervened on the ground floor of the nursing home there were about twenty centimeters of water. The 22 people who were hospitalized inside the RSA were then transferred to various facilities in the province of Livorno.
Ground floor of Pontedera hospital flooded
Due to bad weather, the ground floor of the Lotti hospital in Pontedera, in the province of Pisa, was flooded. The hospital was forced to interrupt surgical activity and dialysis service.
"I invite all those who do not have an urgent and unavoidable need to move around the city, except for work or health reasons, not to leave their homes. The situation is very critical and the roads are not passable," wrote Mayor Matteo Franconi on social media.
“Due to the developments of the current storm front and the forecast for the night – adds Franconi – I would like to inform you that for reasons of prudence and precautionary purposes I am arranging the suspension of teaching activities in all schools in Pontedera for Friday 3 November”.
"We are in contact with the Prefecture and the Region to activate all possible instrumental and human resources, we are trying to respond to all the needs but it is not possible to guarantee the satisfaction of all of them in a short time. Even if we understand how difficult it is, in order to be effective we must avoid - concludes the mayor of Pontedera - getting caught up in panic and frenzy".
A1 section reopened in Florence
The stretch of the A1 Milan-Naples between the junction with the A10 and Scandicci towards Rome, which had been closed due to flooding caused by bad weather, was reopened shortly after 1:11 a.m. Aspi announced this, explaining that "at km 282, traffic is in one lane due to flooding in the external area adjacent to the carriageway."
“Given the heavy rainfall currently underway, Autostrade per l'Italia advises against traveling in the affected area.” However, the A11 Florence-Pisa remains closed, Aspi explains, both the section between Sesto Fiorentino and Prato Ovest toward Pisa, and the section between Pistoia and the junction with the A11 toward Florence.
Arno River flood expected in Florence
“The interventions continue without stopping throughout the night and assistance to the population”. The president of the Tuscany Region, Euganio Giani, explains this on social media. Giani also specifies that “there are breaks on the Bisenzio in Santa Maria a Campi, on the Marina in Villa Montalvo, on the Fosso Reale, on the Agna in Montale, on the Stella in Casini di Quarrata, on the Bardena and on the Iolo torrent.
Levels falling on Ombrone Pistoiese and Bisenzio but the situation is still very critical”. As for the Arno, Giani adds, “the flood is expected in Florence after 12 noon with a peak of flood straddling the first warning level. At the moment the peak of flood is passing on the Sieve at over 300 cubic meters/second. The flood is also passing on the Serchio at 1000 cubic meters/second”.
Article published on November 3, 2023 - 07:19
