The November 14, 1951 The Po broke the banks giving life to the sadly known one Polesine flood: on that occasion they lost their lives 101 people, 84 of which aboard a rescue truck. There was also a significant loss of human life economic lossgiven that in addition to roads and bridges, gods 157 thousand hectares of arable land well 107 flooded, causing an estimated damage to 7 billion euros today. But what were the causes of this tragedy? Let’s go over what happens to 73 years latertaking as main reference an analysis published by the Polaris center of the CNR.
The weather conditions before the flood
The Polesine flood was not a completely unexpected event but the last in a series of adverse phenomena that hit Italy throughout 1951. In that year between the months of January and October occurred rains and floods which, overall, took the life of more than 150 people throughout the national territory. Northern Italy, in particular, was hit by intense rainfall starting from the beginning of November, with values in the Polesine area equal to approximately 30 millimeters of rain per daywith peaks that even they were 14 times higher the monthly average of the previous 5 years.
All this water caused a rapid between November 11th and 12th enlargement of the Pobreaking the banks in the province of Parma and, two days later, in the Polesine.
The flood in the Polesine
As anticipated, the Polesine it is the historical-geographical region between the lower reaches of the Adige and the Po and which corresponds to province of Rovigo and to that of Cavarzerano in the Venetian area. It is a mostly flat area with many hectares located at one lower than sea level: for this reason numerous have been created over time dams And embankments. The problem is that these were not only damaged during the conflict, but at the end of the war proper maintenance was no longer carried out.
Specifically, one of the most critical areas was that between Saint Mary Magdalene And Eyebello. It is precisely here that on November 14th the Po broke the banks in three different places: in Paviole di Canaro, in the Bosco area and in the municipality of Occhiobello – as also indicated in the image below.
The waters finally reached the bank of the Fossa Polesella, a canal which – in fact – served as a dam, containing the waters. If the gates had been opened in time, it would have been possible to do so gradually drain the water towards the sea, limiting the damage. The authorities, however, were not timely and then the water began to flow go back up towards the mountain. This, finally, caused further floods, including that of the municipality of Adria – which was completely flooded – and of Rovigo, where the waters were fortunately held back byembankment of the Adigetto canal, which allowed the historic center to be saved.
The damage from the Polesine flood
To date it is estimated that a quantity of water estimated between 3 and 8 billion cubic meters has flooded an area of 1170 km2with one maximum water depth of 6 metres.
Overall they were damaged 950km of streets, 60 km of embankments, 52 bridges, 4100 homes, 13800 agricultural companies, 5000 buildings and 2500 agricultural machinery. In this tragic event they lost their lives 101 peoplethere were 7 missing And 180 thousand displaced and homeless. Most of the victims, 84 peopledied due to an accident in the Frassinelle area which involved a rescue truck: the vehicle in fact got stuck, coming completely submerged and causing all occupants to lose their lives.
In addition to human losses, animal losses were added, with the death of 16 thousand heads of livestock. Overall, damages were estimated for 400 billion lirecorresponding to more than 7 billion euros today. Since the Fossa Polesella constituted a serious obstacle, between the 24 and the November 26th it was blown up using approx 7 tons of TNTallowing the water to drain away, while the embankments they were restored during 1952.
