Rain and violent gusts of wind put Salento on their knees

LECCE – Schools closed in half of the municipalities of Salento, the same fate for the university complexes of the capital, events skipped and postponed until a later date in different locations. The orange alert for several regions of the South, including Puglia, was collected very seriously in Salento. Rain and wind – above all wind, with lashes of rare violence, up to 55 knots – since the night they have put a strain on the resistance of trees, poles, walls, billboards, roofs of buildings, and with the inevitable basements filled with water.

At the Prefecture this morning there was also an extraordinary committee to take stock of the wave of bad weather. And the forces in the field have been asked to carry out not only the ordinary monitoring of the territory, but also that of the railway lines, to signal any obstacles to the South East Railways.

Hundreds of phone calls from each location

Hundreds of phone calls reached the operations center of the fire brigade, which fielded all the men of the provincial command and of the detachments, and the local sections of civil protection. The damages, in some cases truly remarkable, have involved, indistinctly, the entire Salento peninsula. In Ugento, more than twenty requests for trees and pile-ups and blocked citizens, in Soleto, were already at work at 6 am to remove obstacles.

Particularly the situation of some roads, such as the Nardò-Avetrana and the Leverano-Nardò, due to large trunks in the middle of the road and the cypress trees that fell near the cemetery. A tree also fell on the main road 101, at Gallipoli. Situations similar to Cutrofiano, Marittima, Andrano (where in many areas electricity was skipped), Tricase (again, many interventions, even the line of the local police command remained isolated and citizens were invited to use the number 0833 / 777,401).

Damages in the capital

In Lecce, according to the local police balance, in Viale della Liberta, a tree fell on two cars. A bridge has collapsed in via Bachelet, at the corner with via Roma. In via Leonardo da Vinci, highlighted a large unsafe branch, to be demolished. In via Croce, near the branch of the school "Cesare Battisti", two trees fell on the roadway, damaging the masonry. In Via Leuca, another tree collapsed on the sidewalk, while a small chasm opened in Piazza Italia.

Again: a low wall fell into via Torre Mozza and along via Chiatante and via Teodoro Pellegrino, two telecommunications poles. Road signage has reached the exit for San Cataldo of the ring road. The parapet of a balcony from a mezzanine floor in via Siracusa is unrolled.

Again: problems in Galatina, Casarano, Veglie, Cavallino, Maglie, San Donato di Lecce, Matino, Minervino di Lecce, Collepasso, Lizzanello and Castro, where also scaffolding has collapsed. The force of the wind, in Spongano, caused the opening of the Palazzetto dello Sport. In Nardò, the fall of two trees has momentarily caused the closure of the Li Santi road and of the Pagani-checkpoint. Almost everywhere, hindering traffic have represented recycling bins, driven by the wind through the streets. Damage due to the violent gusts of sirocco also to the gymnasium of the IIS "Salvemini" of Alessano.

In Maglie, damage due to the strong wind occurred in particular in the industrial area. In the area of ​​Porto Cesareo, at the expense was, among other things, the “Sette Nani” riding school in Torre Lapillo. A Taurisano, a tree felled by the fury of the wind collapsed near the primary school "Vanini". Several trees uprooted also in Scorrano and Tuglie. In Gallipoli, due to the strong sea storm on the Ionian side, the Giudecca area was closed to transit vehicles.

Desperate farmers

Coldiretti Puglia, meanwhile, complains of damage to olive groves, flooded canals, destroyed greenhouses and tents, rivers of mud and the regional president, Savino Muraglia, announces the request for a natural disaster. Among the most affected rural areas in the province of Lecce, according to the association's data, Taurisano, Gallipoli, Maglie, Poggiardo, Nociglia, Spongano and Veglie. But the phenomenon is so extensive, from north to south of the province, that it is difficult even to keep a precise account of what has occurred. The showers were less intense than other circumstances, but the sirocco's blows made themselves heard, all right.

Any updates in the coming hours