Eleven years have passed since cyclone Cleopatra hit the North East of Sardinia, bringing death and devastation. On that occasion, Olbia and Arzachena were the worst hit, but the areas of Nuoro, Oristano and Medio Campidano were also hit: 440 millimetres of water were discharged in the morning alone. It was 18 November 2013 , but those tragic moments are still alive in the memory of the Sardinians. Next Monday is the day dedicated to the memory of the victims , nineteen in all .
Francesco Mazzoccu, 37, and his son Enrico, 3, were surprised by the water on the outskirts of Olbia. Anna Ragnedda, 83, and Maria Massa, 88, were found drowned in their beds on Via Lazio and Via Romania, also in Olbia. Bruno Fiore, 68, Sebastiana Brundu, 61, and Maria Loriga, 54, fell into a sinkhole on provincial road 38, which connects Olbia to Tempio Pausania, at the height of Monte Pino. And again: an entire Italian-Brazilian family, Isael Passoni and Cleide Maria Rodriguez, both 42, and their children Laine Kellen and Weriston Passoni, 16 and 20, died trapped in a basement in Arzachena. Luca Tanzi, a 40-year-old police officer from Nuoro, was on duty when his car fell into the abyss caused by the collapse of a bridge over the Cedrino River on provincial road 46, between Oliena and Dorgali; Maria Maria Frigiolini, 80, lost her life in Torpè and Vannina Figus, 64, in Uras; Giovanni Farre, 61, from Bitti, was never found. There was also a victim in Medio Campidano: Luisa Pisanu, 42, from Guasila. And then Pasqualino Contu from Orosei: his company was destroyed and he took his own life out of desperation.
The death toll was added to the damage : 660 million euros to which must be added those needed to secure the island territory devastated by the flood. The victims will be remembered on Monday 18th in both Olbia and Arzachena. At 10:30 am, the Arzachena municipal administration, together with the parish of Santa Maria della Neve, will host a ceremony in the XVIII Novembre Park, named in memory of those who died in 2013. The commemorations will then continue in the afternoon, moving to Olbia: from 4:30 pm on the San Josemaria Escrivà de Balaguer seafront, where since last year the monument in memory of the nine lives lost in the city has stood, a religious service will be held. Finally, on Wednesday 20th, there will be the first public screening of the documentary made by director Dario Bertini and journalist Angela Galimberti, "18.11.13 - The memory of water", to remember that tragedy with images: appointment in Olbia in the Suentulab room.
