The next day we continue to remove the water

Since yesterday, Monday October 16, there have been almost 100 interventions by the fire brigade and civil protection. ComposerDue to severe injuries on his knee flood Created by a stationary storm on the Romanian coast. In 3 hours, Ostia received more rain than expected for the entire month of October. The result was complete flooding of cellars, garages and basements, and water seeping into the ground floors of shops and houses. Today we continue to work to free the premises from water: outside the shops people are busy removing mud and rubbish with brooms, brushes and buckets.

“Can’t quantify the damage for now, but at least 200 thousand euros, I’m keeping low“, says a pharmacist via dell’Appagliatore. “Yesterday the water here was a sea,” says an employee of a local hardware store. “We have been throwing things since this morning – He adds – Now let’s see what we can save, but what should we do? An hour of rain filled the basement to a height of 1.20 meters. I have not seen such a scene in Ostia in 40 years. He concludes. “Water also leaked from the power sockets. Instead says the owner of a local gym. “I was able to open today with no damage to the floor, but the changing rooms are still flooded“, concludes the owner.

In some cases, the flood is accompanied by dirt on the street. “Two trash cans floated up to the driveway of my son’s office and overturned. Couldn’t clear the garbage since this morning“, complains Filomena, who lives via Delle Aloudine. “Luckily I got the car yesterday, but me and my partner lost all our work stuff, we’re animators”, says Fabio, who lives in the area. “Now we wait to see the damage – he concludes – They’re still absorbing water, but I think there’s about 10,000 euros in damage that unfortunately no one has given us.”

There is no precise estimate of the damage yet. “There is no significant damage from what we found on roads, public buildings and residential buildings. All school buildings are open, except for one building, which decided to suspend classes due to flooding of the basement.“, explains Guglielmo Calcerano, Municipal Councilor for Public Works. “However, due to power cuts, the quality of life of the people has been affected. problem – He adds – There is a dispersal system here, with wells and drains leading to the subsoil, which slowly absorbs the water. About 170 millimeters of water fell in an hour yesterday and our system was unable to dispose of this volume.”

As for maintenance, “Our office has spent the entire routine maintenance fund. However, there is a structural problem, but the installation of sewage systems in Ostia Lido is a large and expensive project. We must accept the logic that climate change is putting our urban infrastructure under unprecedented and rare stress.” Therefore, the councilor said, it is necessary to adapt the infrastructure to this different stress. “Capital of Rome”There is an extraordinary office to adapt to climate change, but we also need to think about the allocation of funds and the creation of specific offices. They can be created in the offices in the municipalities that deal with the extraordinary maintenance of the territory for these kinds of problems.Calcerano concludes.