Sardinia was only slightly affected by the violent downpour expected today in the eastern part of the island . As ANSA reports, heavy rainfall occurred, but it spilled into the sea off the coast. Hence the decision by the regional civil protection agency to downgrade the alert from red to orange and then, in the early afternoon, to yellow, with particular attention paid to Gallura, where it has continued to rain since last night. " The impact on the region was zero, because the forecasts have transformed from a weather risk to a scientific curiosity ," explained the director of the regional civil protection agency , Mauro Merella, at a press briefing at the Civil Protection operations center. "Let's just say that this event allowed us to test the civil protection system's response and practice for a red code. We were fortunate because all the models predicted truly worrying situations, much worse than we had predicted."
Eastern Corsica was not so fortunate, where storms brought heavy rain to the mainland, causing flooding and, according to local media, evacuations in Porto Vecchio, with at least 30 people evacuated and roads closed.
"All the models were absolutely convergent. Or rather, what was predicted actually occurred, but at sea, 40-50 km east of Sardinia, in the middle of the Tyrrhenian Sea ," explains Alessandro Delitala, director of the meteorological and climate department of Arpa Sardinia, "also because all the conditions for intense precipitation were there: a lot of water vapor and precipitable water in the atmosphere. Furthermore, there was quite significant instability, and all these conditions developed. So, it was indeed a highly disturbed situation."
Regarding the civil protection organization, the level of attention remains unchanged, with municipal operations centers open, special attention paid to vulnerable groups, and a whole series of other measures implemented at the municipal level.
" However, we remain ready to intervene if necessary, with regional and state structures ready to support mayors should events occur ," concluded the head of Sardinian civil protection, Merella.
