Damage, minimal. Fear, immense, once again. And a call for action, because while things went "well" tonight, in Pirri people live with the fear of being flooded with any heavier-than-average rainfall.
"It's no secret that the situation is becoming increasingly worrying given such unstable weather," reflects Municipal President Maria Laura Manca.
The storm that hit Cagliari last night "is yet another event causing disruption to Pirri. These are no longer sporadic incidents, but rather a serious structural issue that occurs regularly. Pirri is under water and is highly likely to suffer damage from any rainfall, even moderate amounts."
The municipal machinery, starting with the Civil Protection Department, "but also the traffic police and the traffic service, worked hard, and the floodwaters didn't cause any serious damage, but the alert is high and we can't waste any more time. We need to join forces," is the appeal of the president of the agency that governs an area inhabited by over 30,000 residents.
Monitoring was carried out by some citizens of the most affected areas: the most critical phase of the rain occurred between 12:23 and 12:48 am, the flood wave lasted 30 minutes "bringing the water level to about 50/60 centimeters on Via Balilla near Via San Quintino, but fortunately without significant damage."
The request for intervention is addressed to Palazzo Bacaredda: "The municipal administration undoubtedly has a responsibility to citizens to ensure safety, livability, and economic sustainability, and we must work together to reach a solution as quickly as possible. It's unsustainable to wait for an emergency to intervene," warns Manca. "We need to begin work on the instability, which has been stalled for too long. In the meantime, it should be combined with other immediate interventions, with a preventative strategy that actively involves the entire community. But that's not all. As a Municipality, we've called for bold interventions, especially new ones upstream from Pirri and in the Monreale neighborhood, one of the three natural rivers that flow into Pirri."
Climate change, concludes the Municipality president, "is there for all to see and we can no longer be caught unprepared."
Enrico Fresu