Elba devastates heavily: City of Portoferraio under water!

Elba devastates heavily: City of Portoferraio under water!

A serious storm has hit the Italian Mediterranean island of Elba after cloudbursts and thunderstorms hit the region late Thursday evening. The port city of Portoferraio is particularly affected, where emergency services had to bring at least 80 people to safety during the night. Drivers were surprised by sudden floods and mudslides, and about two dozen people could be recovered by fast rescue measures. Among these were nine children, adolescents and their parents who were freed from a flooded dance school. In another dramatic rescue campaign, ten people had to be saved from a pizzeria with inflatable boats, reported the FAZ .

The location in Portoferraio is precarious. The town hall has called on the population not to leave their houses and avoid car rides, since numerous access and roads are blocked by flooding. "Don't come to Portoferraio," it said in a message, since the city is affected by extreme rains that led to considerable damage in a short time. According to regional president Eugenio Giani, 65 liters of rain per square meter fell in Portoferraio within an hour, which also tightened the situation.

Location in the rest of Italy

The effects of the severe storm are not limited to Elba. Floods and landslides were also reported on the mainland, in regions such as Grosseto, Florence, Lucca and Siena. The coastal level of the Maremma is particularly affected, where fields and streets are flooded. Meteorologists have issued severe weather warnings for numerous regions of Italy, including Umbria and Campania. In Rome, the authorities have blocked the access to the Tiber's banks in order to react to an expected increase in the river level. Emergency services in the capital are active due to fallen trees that block roads and sidewalks.

In addition to these challenges, the predictions for the coming days have predicted extreme rainfall in Central Europe. According to a study by the zdf it is expected that climate changes and the warming can increase the flood situation, which can lead to serious damage. Long persistent rainfalls are not only responsible for such natural disasters, but also a consequence of the warming, which leads to higher ocean temperatures and thus more precipitation.

climate change and extreme weather

The current weather events on Elba are not isolated, but are in a larger context of changed climatic conditions, as the Institut Climameter has confirmed. Climate change means that extreme weather events occur more frequently. The world climate report even provides for an increase in floods in Central Europe, especially when global temperatures rise above 1.5 ° C. In Germany, where increasingly flood events are expected, the situation has taken off in a similar way.

The latest developments make it clear that even developed countries like Germany are not safe from the consequences of climate change. In Russia, a high -pressure area blocks a low pressure area above the warm Mediterranean, which further tightens this extreme weather. Despite the dangers associated with such heavy rain events, a survey shows that only 12% of municipalities in Germany have developed a climate adaptation concept, while 40% have already implemented measures to provide for flood. The urgency of developing such strategies will continue to increase if the threats from climate change and its consequences are taken into account.