Rosignano whirlwind: cars and roofs destroyed, people injured. Fear, evacuated families

Rosignano Marittimo (Livorno), September 26, 2020 – A roar at dinner time. And so the devastation, the wind and the raincar windows that shatters and the roofs of the houses that are uncovered. Fear in Rosignano, on the coast of Livorno, in the Lillatro area, which includes a very popular beach in summer.

A whirlwind happened at dinner time on Friday and engulfed all of that. what did you meet, causing damage but also injuries: two in particular, in code red, were transferred to the Livorno hospital. They have multiple injuries, they will get away with it but the terror remains in their eyes and in the eyes of the Rosignano people.

One night of fear and, the next day, scenes of devastation. And unfortunately the area is not new for these extreme events: it had already happened, at the same point, in November 2012. The new whirlwind passed in seconds. Several people had already seen it approaching from the sea and had even filmed it, on one of the first cool afternoons of Rosignano.

It had been a very strong Friday, with the orange alert issued by the Region for storm surge. Around every 20.30 suddenly the whirlwind rises from the sea and sweeps everything away. Via Vittorio Veneto, via Carducci, via Oberdan Chiesa. Roof tiles fly off and hit cars, breaking glass.

The ceilings are uncovered, while in the area of Rowing Club the tense structure on which there is a tennis court collapses. At that time there were people playing. Among them are the two most seriously injured. The Lillatro area is like in a blender, people seek refuge.

The whirlwind passes and the damage remains. Calls to firefighters: teams arrive from Livorno, Pisa and Florence. The Civil Protection starts up, with the mayor Daniele Donati who takes to the streets and begins to coordinate the rescue operations. 118 goes out to the field with several ambulances: Rosignano Public Assistance, Misericordia di San Pietro in Palazzi, Cecina Public Assistance.

Collesalvetti Public Assistance teams also took part. We worry about the fall of the traction structure.

Two people are rescued in code red and taken to the Livorno hospital. They are the most serious. They are two men, one from Rosignano Marittimo and the other from Piombino. I have a reserved forecast. He is a tennis teacher and one of his students. Instead, another person, with more minor injuries, is escorted to the Cecina hospital. He is a man from Rosignano Marittimo. He had crushing trauma to his lower extremities.

A 24-year-old girl, who was parking in front of the house, saw a tree fall on her car. She is unharmed but in a state of shock and was escorted to the Cecina hospital. A woman is also in shock after a roof collapses. The woman was slightly injured in the arm by a tile.

“We are making an accurate assessment of the damage together with the firefighters – says Mayor Donati the next day – and we are activating the municipality’s teams to complete the maintenance of the green and the roads that had already begun last night for the safety of circulation”

Meanwhile, the mayor himself has opened a structure where to find a refuge to spend the night a a couple of families who will not be able to return to their homes, declared uninhabitable, while others have serious injuries. In all, seven houses were seriously damaged.

As the hours go by, we understand the magnitude of the disaster. There are dozens of fallen trees, especially the pines that characterize the Rosignano area. The Aurelia Variant is also temporarily closed, while rescue teams make sure there are no other people in difficulty. And the mind back to 2012, to the other whirlwind. It was November and I was practically following the same path.

Many, on Saturday morning, are around to see what happened to their city. Rosignano rolls up his sleeves after a night of terror. And it begins a whole series of structural checks on buildings, but also trees, to understand which ones are unsafe and which ones need to be felled.

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