Weather conditions in Ionian Calabria: update 4.00 p.m.
A team of the Department of Civil Protection is currently working at the Relief Coordination Center activated in the Prefecture of Crotone (Repository image).
The Department of Civil Protection is monitoring the current strong wave of bad weather that since Friday evening is affecting the Ionian coast of Calabria, with precipitation of over 300mm in the last 36 hours, and peaks of over 400mm in some areas.
A team from the Department is already operational at the Relief Coordination Center in the Prefecture of Crotone. Teams of volunteers from Puglia, Basilicata and Campania equipped with water and motor pumps joined the operation to support the affected Municipalities, where the Municipal Operations Centers have been immediately set up and where Fire Fighters and civil protection volunteers from the Calabria Region are working.
Due to heavy rainfall, the rivers Esaro and Neto flooded yesterday, but fortunately the flooding only affected the floodplains. With regard to urban areas, the Civil Protection of the Calabria Region reports that the municipalities most affected by bad weather are Crotone, Cirò Marina and Isola di Capo Rizzuto. In these and other areas, the widespread flooding required the evacuation of the population at risk, now housed in hotels and facilities provided by the municipalities.
In several areas, teams of firefighters and volunteers are working to free the electrical cabins from water and restore the power supply. The bad weather also caused some road interruptions due to the presence of flooding and mud on the road surface: however, these are punctual interruptions, which affect both the main and secondary roads, which will be given the highest priority of intervention to ensure relief and the population all connections, including between inland municipalities.
The Crotone Airport is now running again.
Given the ongoing situation, the Civil Protection of the Calabria Region asked the population to stay at home and, to facilitate the reporting of any emergencies or critical issues, has activated a WhatsApp service on the number 3205799119 to which it is possible to send a message of help, specifying details to be contacted.