ANCONA – Hail as big as the palm of a hand, as powerful as bullets. Gusts of impetuous wind, violent enough to knock down trees and uncover roofs. Ten minutes of terror were enough to bring the capital and its interior to its knees. Hundreds of damaged cars, damaged houses, destroyed crops, perforated shutters and shutters as if they were under fire from a machine gun. A dozen people ended up in the emergency room with dents and cuts: some were injured by ice bombs that fell from the sky, some from exploded windows, others fell inside the house as they rushed to close doors and windows. Fortunately, no one is in serious condition.

The whirlwind that broke out in Ancona at around 2 p.m., associated with a hailstorm never seen before, forced the firefighters to carry out some seventy interventions that lasted until night, to the point that all free personnel have been put back into service and means have been requested from other provinces and regions to strengthen local commands, also in light of the new wave of bad weather forecast for today: the coming storms are frightening both because of the drains blocked by fallen leaves and branches, as well as for those that were already damaged yesterday, such as the condominiums of a building in via Brecce Bianche where the wind has gutted the tarred roof covering. Another, which collapsed in via delle Grazie, destroyed a couple of parked cars. In Posatora (via Monte Vettore, via Monte Pennino) and Monte Dago (via Togliatti and Tiraboschi), cars and condominiums have been whipped. The images that come from all over the city are impressive: dozens of buildings have been damaged, chimneys, gutters, window frames have blown up.

Even the barracks and gazelles of the carabinieri in via della Montagnola were damaged. The military intervened in via Nenni, along with firefighters, due to the explosion of the windows of an attic. In Piazza Ugo Bassi, in addition to the flood (registered throughout the Plan, in Piazza d’Armi, but also in Baraccola, in Torrette and in Flaminia), the electric trolleybus network collapsed. Faced with the emergency, the Municipality immediately activated the Coc, with Commissioner Stefano Foresi in constant contact with the local police command, with the engineer Borgognoni (deputy director of municipal civil protection) and with the architect Panariello dell ‘Green Public Office. An external company was hired to carry out immediate maintenance, in support of a team of volunteers from the Municipal Civil Protection and the Vab (Forest Fire Surveillance), who intervened in Posatora in particular with the sewer pump because the Belvedere park was transformed into a swimming pool.

Several trees have fallen here, as in various parts of the city: in via Matteotti, in via Sparapani, in piazza Stracca, in via Ascoli Piceno, but especially in villages like Candia, with unavoidable inconveniences for road traffic. The most critical situation in Gallignano, where the roof of a house was uncovered and tiles were also blown off the roof of the old church, where an inspection will be necessary to verify that there has been no water infiltration. Broken glass in the oratory, dozens of cars damaged by hail, as well as in Sappanico: the Provinciale was closed in a section due to the collapse of a large plant, the same in Casine di Paterno. During the storm there were repeated blackouts: throughout the afternoon, Gallignano was without power due to a failure in an electrical substation.

Impetuous gusts and storm surge battered the coast, particularly at Portonovo, where the beach south of the Tower has been drastically reduced. And for the next few hours, the forecasts do not bode well. The meteorological warning for storms and strong gusts of wind is valid until midnight today: yellow dot throughout the region also due to the risk of hydrogeological instability.

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