Florence out of danger after heavy rains, thanks to key floodgate: Tuscany president
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Dozens of people were evacuated from their homes on March 14 after the equivalent of a month’s worth of rain fell in six hours.
PHOTO: AFP
ROME - Florence was out of danger due to the “decisive” role of a key floodgate that prevented the Arno river from bursting its banks after heavy rains, Italian authorities said.
Dozens of people were evacuated from their homes on March 14 after the equivalent of a month’s worth of rain fell in six hours, flooding streets and swelling waterways in Tuscany, the region where Florence is located.
“The important flood peak of the Arno passed along the entire length without any critical issues,” Tuscany’s president, Mr Eugenio Giani, wrote on social media on March 15.
Mr Giani said the region’s floodgate and expansion basins were “decisive” in lowering the threat to the famous Renaissance city and surrounding areas, including Pisa.
“In these difficult hours, the hydraulic safety system of the region has made the difference despite the intense and persistent rainfall,” he said.
On the morning of March 15, the level of the Arno was at 3.87m and slowly receding, said Florence mayor Sara Funaro, who added that the levels of all tributaries had fallen below warning levels.
On the evening of March 15, the river had surpassed 4m.
The Arno river on March 14. On the morning of March 15, the level of the Arno was at 3.87m and slowly receding.
A red weather alert remains in effect till 2pm (10pm Singapore time) on March 15, with parks, cemeteries, markets, museums and libraries closed.
The Arno, which runs through Florence and Pisa, is prone to flooding in spring and fall.
A floodgate located between Pisa and Florence, which authorities ordered opened on March 14 afternoon, “literally knocked down the Arno flood wave that was rising”, Mr Giani said.
Construction of the floodgate began after a devastating flood in 1949. But it was not completed in time to help avert another massive flood in 1996 which killed over 100 people and destroyed or damaged countless works of art.
Approximately 500 firefighters worked over the past 24 hours to carry out 430 interventions in the provinces of Florence, Prato, Pisa and Livorno, including rescues, due to flooding, landslides, the fire service said.
Authorities were still responding to “critical issues” in certain towns outside Florence.
The red weather alert on March 14 caused Florence’s world-famous Uffizi Galleries to close early, along with the Duomo cathedral. AFP
