Bad weather Catania, Red Cross: “Situation never seen before but we are ready with important means”

“I’m certainly no longer a kid, at 43, but I had never seen such a force of rain and the amount of water that paralyzed many parts of the city”. Speaking to the Adnkronos is the president of the Red Cross of Catania, Stefano Principato, in a break during the meeting in the Prefecture this morning with the coordination and rescue center to take stock of the situation. “Here we organize the answers to be given to the city, we arrange interventions and services – he explains – Today, in the meantime, we have another meeting at 5 pm with the national department to monitor the situation”. “We have seen people who have found themselves with normality distorted – he says – with solutions that are difficult to prepare immediately. When we rescued motorists in the dark, in the water, we offered them help that went beyond technical assistance. we cuddle, convinced that a hug, a hot drink and a word of comfort are often the best therapy in certain situations. Since last Monday, when there was the first rainfall, we immediately activated the operations center and, in support of the firefighters , we carried out various rescues. The situation was rather delicate, which is why we made our rather tall 4×4 vehicles available, also equipped with blankets, water. Many, in fact, the people who called the fire brigade operations center but phone calls were so many that they were often not even considered “. made available a Navara and a 4×4 ambulance to allow qualified medical assistance even in hostile areas “We therefore went to the areas of Catania where there are usually critical situations, such as that of the airport or of the Maf – continues Principality and there we rescued the drivers trapped in the cars by making them get on our trucks to be refreshed with blankets and hot tea. At the same time we thought of the homeless, in that case in an important state of vulnerability: with the Municipality we were able to set up at the Palaspedini a structure able to welcome them: 22 those currently sheltered with cots, blankets and hot meals, but the number is destined to increase. The next day the situation precipitated, due to the water bomb, and we organized ourselves with 4×4 operating vehicles, in support of the firefighters for all the critical issues that have occurred, such as the 250 competitors blocked at the Maf, the fruit and vegetable market lo, and taken aboard a coach. We went to rescue motorists on the roads that have become rivers “.” Yesterday we had a moment of tranquility – adds the president of the Catanese Red Cross – today the situation is evolving, we are strengthening the system of qualified technical response to the point that even the 118 asked for our support: we therefore made available a Navara and a 4×4 ambulance to allow qualified medical assistance even in hostile areas that would be difficult to reach by normal means. Today the situation seems calm, the weather is clear and it does not rain but the picture is evolving “. (By Silvia Mancinelli)