Bad weather. Note on the July 25, 2023 storm
Monday July 24
Shortly after 4 am, a very violent storm hit Milan. Gusts of wind at a speed of over 100 kilometers per hour, 40 mm of water in 10 minutes (how much normally falls in a month). The consequences are very serious for the city: trees uprooted in all neighborhoods, roads unusable, roofs uncovered, cars crushed by trunks, schools unusable. A unique event in the history of Milan.
Relief was immediate, the functional risk monitoring center of the Lombardy Region had in fact issued an orange alert (moderate risk) for possible storms and the municipal operations center (COC) was already active to deal with emergencies.
Since that moment, a great effort has been underway by the municipal administration through Civil Protection, the Green Directorate, the local police, the NUIR and all the technical directorates involved, together with the participating companies AMSA, ATM, MM, in coordination with the police. of fire to clear the streets and ensure a return to normality as quickly as possible. The work teams are formed and a task force operates 24 hours a day starting from the Operations Center in via Drago.
The restoration of roads, for vehicles and public transport lines, is a priority. Hundreds of roads are in fact blocked by branches and trunks, entire tram and trolleybus lines are also unusable due to falling electrical cables or poles. From Monday's first assessment, there are around thirty locations where there is interference with the ATM overhead line: complex contexts that require the commitment of many men and special vehicles. The COC collects and sorts the many reports received and arriving and moves the emergency teams around the area.
Due to water infiltrations and fallen trees in the relevant courtyards, it was necessary to close 11 nursery schools and 3 nurseries that hosted summer camps. The Natural History Museum, the Planetarium, the Sforzesco Castle, the PAC and the Comics Museum are closed to the public. It is not possible to access the libraries of Baggio, Chiesa Rossa and Parco Sempione (due to the park closure).
The registry offices are open, as are the cemeteries where some areas have been limited for the safety of users. Thanks to the prompt intervention of MM vehicles and men, no permanent flooding was recorded in the underpasses or on public grounds: monitoring of the drainage and of Seveso and Lambro continues incessantly in anticipation of new storm events.
To facilitate travel, Area C and the ban on transit in the other ZTLs present in the area are suspended for 25 and 26 July, with the exception of Area B, which remains active. The ban on access to carriageways and preferential lanes has also been suspended, to allow you to get around any obstacles on the road.
It is necessary for obvious safety reasons to close the parks until there is certainty that they can be used in complete safety. The Municipality makes it known that it is of great importance to also avoid tree-lined green areas and open parks until the green technicians have monitored the areas. This work will take place after the road network has been restored.
The kennel and cat shelter park of the Municipality of Milan in via Aquila also suffers inconveniences and closes to the public to open to interested visitors only by appointment (by contacting the 02 884 46310 or by writing to segreteria.pcrm@gmail.com).
On Monday evening the COC sorted out around 350 requests for intervention, the most urgent ones being carried out. 30% of public transport lines restart, while tramways and trams remain unusable. The main arteries are once again passable. The damage assessment begins and will take days. This is to carry out the necessary requests and be able to access the regional and state funds that will be made available for this disaster.
Tuesday July 25
Operations are progressing. Requests for intervention reach 1.400, of which approximately 600 are resolved throughout the day. Many teams are on the streets, over 230 people at work including Civil Protection, Fire Brigade also from other cities, the teams that take care of the greenery to which must be added the staff of the Municipality's Rapid Intervention Unit, the local Police, AMSA, MM and ATM. The army also lends help with a contingent of twenty people and ten vehicles.
There are approximately 60 heavy vehicles used, including military and fire brigade vehicles, six ladder trucks, two excavators, two heavy vehicles with spiders which are essential for lifting the logs once they have been cut, and tipper trucks for loading the wood.
Four areas have been identified and set up in the city for the storage of trunks cut and removed from roads and branches. Some critical issues remain, especially on the tram and trolleybus lines, for example the 90/91, but 60% of public transport has now been restored.
The Sforzesco Castle, Palazzo Reale, PAC and civic museums are regularly reopened to the public. Parks and green areas remain closed.
Thursday July 27th
The total number of interventions requested since the beginning of the emergency rises to 1466. The teams then proceed with sorting the work and 704 reports are resolved.
The operational teams in the area are: 14 for Civil Protection, 7 for the Metropolitan City, 30 made available by the greenery operator, 21 from the Fire Brigade, in addition to the local Police. Many streets have been freed, among these, for example, Piazza Repubblica. The route of the 90/91 has been cleared and the line normalised.
Friday July 28th
The locations where interventions are being carried out due to falling trees and branches have risen to 920 and work continues to fully restore public and private mobility, with the aim of completing most of the interventions by the first days of next week.
Part of this work concerns tram and trolleybus lines where the procedures are more complex because it is necessary to disconnect the electricity grid, remove the damaged cables and poles and then restore the system. On the tracks, still obstructed by branches and trees, we work day and night. In via Isonzo, where the construction site scaffolding of a building collapsed entirely onto the road, we are working with the owners to resolve this critical point too by the weekend.
Updated: 29/07/2023