Three years later, the damage caused by the violent are still visible flood that the September 15, 2022 hit The territory of the Marche and part of Umbria, involving 2,500 hectares of land, over 2,500 private houses and causing the death of 13 people. The strong rainfall, in fact, caused the flooding of three different rivers (the Misa near Senigallia, the Caesan el ‘Eg), with beyond 400 mm of rain fallen in less than 6 hours in the Cantiano area (PU) e 90 mm peaks In an hour.
According to the official reconstruction carried out by the Marche Region, the violent rainfall initially involved the mountain and high-center-central-northern areas of the region, and then decrease in intensity and move to the coast: at that point, a self -regenerating thunderstorm (which feeds also thanks to the warm and humid surface of the sea) unloaded exceptional quantity of rain for the area, already particularly dry following a period of drought due to the summer season.
Three years after the flood, some initiatives have been activated by awareness For the population, so as to avoid inadequate behaviors in the event of flooding, while the investigation against 22 officials for alleged omissions and negligence is still open in the maintenance interventions of the rivers of the rivers. Meanwhile, citizens and businesses have received some Ristori: In total, the government has allocated 400 million euros, to which another 20 million from the European solidarity fund are added to the safety of the area.
What happened 3 years ago from a meteorological point of view: the rainfall map
Thanks to the reconstruction provided by the Marche Region, it was possible to trace the causes of the strong rainfall that caused the flood: specifically, on 15 September 2022 the Italian central regions were affected by Western flows deriving from a deep depression on Scandinavia, to which a secondary minimum was joined on the Iberian peninsula and thehigh pressure coming from North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean. Precisely this situation meant that the fresh air of Atlantic origin entered the central-northern Tyrrhenian regions and that, at the same time, the warmest and most humid air arriving from northern Africa was headed towards the central-southern Tyrrhenian regions.
At that point, some temporal systems on the Tyrrhenian side have developed in the contact area of these two masses of air: initially these phenomena have mainly affected the mountain areas and high-northern high-cultinari of the region. In the late afternoon of September 15, however, the storm cells moved along the coastal area, where a self -regenerating temporal system which unloaded quantities of precipitation high in a very short time and causing the flooding of the Cesano, Misa and Esino rivers.
To be particularly affected was the stretch of back between Mount Catria and Mount Cuccowhere in just 6 hours they were recorded 400 mm of rain (Cantiano station), with peaks of 90 mm in an hour, that correspond to Over 30% of the annual average for this area.
The damage caused by the violent flood and the victims
The intense rains then caused several landslides, with sliding and flows of mud and debris especially in the more upstream areas, while on the valley the rapid rise in the hydrometric levels was triggered, with sudden full and destructive floods. The most interested basins were that of Metauro, through its tributary Burano that bathes Cantiano, and that of Misa, through its tributary Nevola that cross the hinterland of Senigallia. As a result, several locations in the province of Ancona have been overwhelmed by the waters of the Misa river, including the municipalities of Ostra, Serra de ‘Conti And Senigalliaand the Nevola river, like the municipalities of Ostra Vetere, Barbara, Castelleone of Suasa And Trecastelli.
In addition to the budget of 13 victims, the flood caused numerous injured, over 300 displaced people and material damage for over 2 billion euros.
It should then be underlined that intense rainfall affected brands and part of Umbria following a prolonged period droughtdue to the heat of the summer season: for this reason, the territory presented a low saturation degree and, consequently, it was not able to effectively absorb the imposing amount of rain that fell in narrow times, effectively promoting visible floods also in the video below.
The investigation for omissions and negligence in maintenance interventions
Three years after the flood, the legal authorities have ordered the indictment for 22 Personand, between officials and technicians of the Marche region and the province of Ancona, on charges of culpable flood cooperation, cooperation in multiple manslaughter and serious injuries. The investigation, in particular, aims to establish presumed omissions and negligence in the interventions of maintenance of the rivers of the rivers, whose flooding caused the flooding of different locations and the death of 13 people.
At the same time, the Region has started some initiatives with the aim of sensitize The population on risks in the event of floods of this type, so as to teach citizens the correct behaviors to be adopted in the event of flooding and similar circumstances.
