Bad weather brings Southern Sardinia to its knees: one missing, isolated villages, flooded roads and fields, dead animals

A very strong wave of bad weather has brought Southern Sardinia to its knees. Heavy rains hit during the night between 26 and 27 October, reaching a peak between 2:30 and 5:00 . Flooded roads, overflowing rivers and streams, people trapped in cars, dead animals, shepherds calling for help from the roofs of sheepfolds, evacuations, closed roads and suspended train traffic in some areas .

The situation improved as the hours passed, only to worsen again in view of the coming night, which could be another night of fear given the forecasts and the orange alert issued by the regional Civil Protection in the most affected areas .

The budget

Hundreds of interventions were carried out by the firefighters. The record for water falling was recorded in Vallermosa, 291 millimeters in a few hours.

From Siliqua to Vallermosa, from San Gavino to Carbonia, from Iglesias to Villacidro, from Decimomannu to Villaspeciosa , flooding is recorded almost everywhere.

In Siliqua the Forrus stream overflowed, a woman trapped in her car was rescued by firefighters. One person is missing after his Jeep Renegade was swept away by a torrent in the Monte Arcosu area . It is a boy who was with a group of friends in different cars: three of them managed to reach a shelter, four were rescued by firefighters with a helicopter and the search for another has been underway for several hours now. The search is very complicated due to practically non-existent traffic.

Roads and railways

Landslides were recorded on the 131 near Sardara, on the provincial road 2, on the 193 and on the 196 between Villasor and Villacidro, closed due to the invasion of debris and subsequently reopened. In Pabillonis the small bridge of “Sa Taba” collapsed , leaving the area isolated . In Assemini the Flùmini Mannu swelled dangerously, almost reaching the bridge on via Coghe that connects the town to the industrial area of Macchiareddu. The stretch of road in the Bau Arena area that connects Assemini, Decimomannu and Uta is closed to traffic.

There will also be significant repercussions on rail traffic. Trains will not run on the Cagliari-Carbonia-Iglesias line for at least three days , due to the rains that have seriously damaged the line. Rfi technicians are at work, but trains will not return to running before Wednesday 30 October. The San Gavino-Pabillonis-Uras line was also interrupted in the morning, but reactivated in the afternoon.

The interventions

In Vallermosa a nursing home was evacuated, from Monastir to Villasor several shepherds were rescued with their flocks . In Villasor a family of three was also rescued whose home was completely flooded.

Roads like rivers too and San Gavino Monreale, where there are dozens of images posted online by terrified citizens . And where the mind goes back to November 18, 2013, when the cyclone “Cleopatra” caused damage for millions of euros with the roads becoming rivers, the canals flooded and the lower part of the town completely submerged.

In Villacidro, a house located on via Cagliari suffered a small fire caused by water infiltrations that reached the garage, coming into contact with the electrical system. The firefighters, supported by the carabinieri, intervened promptly, securing the area and rescuing the owner. Fortunately, no one was injured, and the fire was quickly put out.

There is obviously alarm for the countryside literally flooded and for productions at risk. Farms are not doing any better, dozens of dead sheep are recorded.

In the early evening, the Fire Brigade still had approximately 130 interventions underway .

Fear also in the Oristano area, with around forty interventions by the Fire Brigade due to flooding and other damage, particularly in the Terralbese and Uras areas .

New alert

And it's not over, because the Civil Protection has issued a new alert, orange in the areas already flooded . More heavy rains are expected during the night, and people are already shaking, because further rainfall in areas already flooded risks causing enormous damage . The new alert is valid until 6:00 pm on Monday 28 October.

(Unioneonline/L)