Reportage Fotografico: bomba d’acqua su Malta, oltre 100mm di pioggia a Gozo

Come ci spiega benissimo il nostro corrispondente maltese Andrea Muscat, oggi una violenta tempesta temporalesca ha colpito Malta, dopo che nei giorni scorsi aveva interessato il nord Africa provocando morte e distruzione tra Algeria e Tunisia, dove erano caduti fino a 250mm di pioggia nelle zone più colpite. Stamattina, per ore, la tempesta ha colpito il Canale di Sicilia, muovendosi molto lentamente da ovest verso est, ed è arrivata su Malta intorno alle 13:15, provocando forti piogge che sono durate circa tre ore, fino a poco dopo le 16 del pomeriggio. La zona più colpita dalle piogge è stata quella di Gharb, l’antico villaggio posto all’estremità occidentale dell’isola di Gozo, dove sono caduti 96,5mm di pioggia. Localmente ci sono state anche grandinate, con chicchi comunque di piccole dimensioni. L’intensità massima della pioggia ha raggiunto i 71mm/hr intorno alle 15. Non ci sono state forti raffiche di vento, che non ha raggiunto neanche i 40km/h. In altre zone di Gozo, comunque, ha piovuto più che a Gharb, con oltre 100mm di accumulo.  La tempesta ha provocato inondazioni, crolli nelle strade e campi completamente allagati, come dimostrano le foto a corredo dell’articolo. Xlendi Bay è stata una delle località più colpite con la strada principale trasformata in fiume in piena. Il mare s’è colorato di marrone in quanto ha subito l’impetuoso arrivo di fango e detriti dall’entroterra. In alcune zone ci sono stati anche allagamenti in cantine e scantinati.

Heavy Mesoscale Convective System

                A squall line lead by a cold front spawned a Mesoscale Convective System. This cold front was the same one that developed the deadly storms in Algeria and Tunisia. The storm spent the whole morning developing and enlarging to the SW of the Maltese Islands before moving over land at around 1:15 in the afternoon indicating the start of a strong and heavy thunderstorm which lasted for 3 hours until approximately 4:15 in the afternoon. Gozo was once again to bear the brunt of the heavy storm with the weather station at Gharb measuring 96.5 mm of rainfall. The rainfall was also accompanied by hail which was mainly small in size but moderate during the heaviest part of the storm. The highest rainfall intensity recorded by the online weather station was 70.6 mm/h at around 3 in the afternoon when the bulk of the rainfall fell. The storm however was not accompanied by strong gusts with the highest measured being that of 37.4 km/h from the NW at around 2:15 in the afternoon. Other places in Gozo had high rainfall too. In the evening more rain systems seem to be developing. This was the highest ever rainfall that this particular weather station has measured. During the storm visibility was very low. There were also a number of strong thunderbolts.

                The storm caused roads to flood, rubble walls to collapse, and fields to be washed away or heavily flooded and beaches to be washed away as photos show. Given the high amounts of rainfall in the time not a lot of damage was caused. Xlendi Bay was one of the worst hit locations with the main road being turned into raging torrent carrying dirt from the nearby valley together with debris. The sandy beach in this area was completely washed away. In country roads debris from rubble walls was scattered all over. Some people also reported some water within their shops or basements. The photos of the floods in Xlendi were taken some time after they had started subsiding.

Le foto a corredo dell’articolo sono di Andrea Muscat, Beppe Galea, Richard Salter e Simon Grech, più qualche altra tratta dal web.