Lake Garda Floods Prompt Emergency Response and Evacuations
Three pump stations discharge 2000 liters per minute. In the heated rooms of the Salò hospital, located one meter below ground level, a flood of water is seeping in. The workers of the Azienda Sanitaria Locale (Local Health Authority) are engaged day and night in the pumping operation.
Hospital Situation and Emergency Measures
If the water level rises too high, the two boilers would shut down, and the patients (about eighty, almost all in the Medicine ward) would need to be relocated elsewhere. The Gavardo and Desenzano hospitals have already been alerted. Conversely, 800 liters per minute are flowing out from the care home.
The Canottieri square is cordoned off. Cars cannot park there. Around noon, Poste Italiane employees closed the “emergency” container where they have been camped for several weeks. A construction company working inside the headquarters forced them to relocate.
Yesterday, citizens were advised to go to the offices of nearby towns. Tomorrow is another day: we will see.
Lakeside Situation and Weather Conditions
At the lakeside, the Don Pedro pizzeria had to call the Garda Volunteers and the firefighters. Other shops (the Guglielmo hairdresser, Vassalli pastry shop, Jesus-Versace) have been flooded. The weather station managed by the Foffa family—who run the weather observatory and seismic station—reported 168 centimeters, six more than the previous day.
Just a measure away from overflowing. Despite the sunny day, yesterday’s situation worsened due to the “suer.” The strong north wind created gigantic waves, with crests. Visually spectacular, but dramatically dangerous.
In Piazza Zanardelli, even a couple of stone slabs were toppled. The drop in temperature caused a snowfall on Monte Baldo and reduced rainfall. However, the opening of the Adige-Garda tunnel (the first since 1982), which transports 50 cubic meters per second, combined with continuous inflows from the Sarca River (250 cubic meters), Ponale River, Toscolano (which receives outflows from the Valvestino Dam), and various streams, have caused a concerning rise.
Yesterday, the tunnel was closed after releasing 4.7 million cubic meters of water from the Adige. Essentially, the lake’s level increased by 1.27 centimeters, according to the Trento authorities. In Peschiera, 190 cubic meters are released into the Mincio River; the maximum limit is 200 cubic meters.
The Garda Lake is visibly rising, and the Fire Brigades are also intervening to deal with cellar flooding. The Civil Protection of San Felice, for example, keeps the Cisano-Sant’Igaro warehouse open 24 hours a day to distribute sandbags (private citizens must go pick them up).
But the naturalistic and romantic aspect should not be overlooked. At the Port of Portese, the rhythmic sound of metallic wires and ropes on boat masts, with waves crashing against the dock, sounds like concert music. People are engaging in “wave tourism,” traveling by car from one location to another to enjoy the spectacle.
By around 6 p.m., the entire lakeside had been cordoned off, and access was restricted even to pedestrians.