Naples – A morning of severe weather brought parts of Naples to their knees, particularly the Phlegraean Fields. Shortly after 9:00 a.m. this morning, a severe, albeit brief, thunderstorm unleashed a veritable torrential downpour , causing serious damage and widespread fear among residents.
Bacoli, the hardest hit: “Impressive amount of water”
The municipality of Bacoli , already under pressure from the bradyseism emergency, was the hardest hit. Mayor Josi Gerardo Della Ragione described moments of great apprehension, while confirming that fortunately there were no injuries.
"There were at least ten rescue operations for residents trapped in their cars," the mayor declared. The force of the water also caused the collapse of a storm drain wall.
“We cleaned the drains but the amount of water was impressive,” added Della Ragione, noting that “looking at the regional data on the weather stations, it was the highest amount of water in all of Campania.” The situation is now improving, with the rain having stopped and the water flowing away. The operations center, already set up for the damage from the recent earthquake, is active to coordinate the interventions.
Flooding and damage also in Monte di Procida
Flooding and damage also in Monte di Procida where the manholes have blown and there have been landslides and holes have been created in the road surface. The municipal civil protection is working to count the damage.
Naples, manholes explode in Posillipo
Even in the city of Naples, there were problems, particularly in the Posillipo area , where the pressure of the storm blew out numerous sewer manholes , causing significant traffic disruption. Significant flooding was reported along Via Posillipo, especially in the stretch between Piazza Donn'Anna and Largo Sermoneta.
Francesco Emilio Borrelli , MP for the Green Left Alliance , and Lorenzo Pascucci , municipal councilor for Europa Verde in Naples, jointly sounded the alarm, emphasizing how the incident demonstrates the inadequacy of current infrastructure. "The sewer system, as it stands, unfortunately can no longer withstand the impact of increasingly violent and frequent rainfall," they stated in a statement. "It is essential to adapt our infrastructure to ongoing climate change by rethinking the entire urban drainage system."
Borrelli and Pascucci also asked for an acceleration of the times and procedures for starting work on the Donn'Anna sewer collector, already approved and financed, considered "fundamental to secure a fragile area, but at the same time strategic for the city, which today appears completely out of control during every weather emergency."
Finally, they reiterated that “this new episode shows that it is no longer possible to talk about exceptionality. Climate change requires a concrete change of pace: resources, vision and structural actions are needed. We can no longer postpone.”
This morning's bad weather has once again highlighted the vulnerability of the Campania region in the face of increasingly intense weather phenomena, urgently reiterating the need for structural interventions and long-term planning to secure at-risk areas.
The article talks about a difficult situation in Naples, but I don't understand why the manhole covers popped so easily. Maybe there are maintenance problems? Let's hope that the authorities take this situation seriously to avoid future damages.