Cultures
Why the lack of snow should (really) worry us
“More than 140 millimeters of water fell in 36 hours and now the risk is landslides”: this is how the head of Civil Protection began Fabrizio Curcio referring to what happened between May 2 and 3, 2023 in Emilia-Romagna. Entire municipalities completely submerged in water and scenarios that at first glance seem reminiscent of those we are used to seeing in areas far away from home, on other continents. Unfortunately, as stated ilmeteo.itthe earth is saturated and swollen with water and therefore could collapse even if good weather returns.
At the beginning of the week, extraordinary rains hit the areas between its provinces Ravenna and Bologna, but what brought areas historically accustomed to flooding into serious trouble were the floods of the Lamone and Montone rivers, which broke their banks. Among the most affected cities are Faenza with more than 500 displaced and Imola with 300 people who have fled their homes. Many other municipalities are isolated due to road closures.
But what triggered this situation?
The answer is simple: two years of severe drought and very heavy rainfall that occurred in a very short period of time. Actually,
When the soil is extremely dry it cannot absorb water easily
The professor explained this mechanism with the help of an experiment Rob Thomas of the University of Readingin England.
The professor arranged 3 glasses filled with water in three different types of soil: one moist, one wet and one very dry. Paradoxically, the drier one, which in the common imagination should be the one that absorbs the liquid the fastest, is actually unable to “drink” the water contained in the glass, which therefore remains on the surface. Well, this is what happens when masses of rainwater are dumped violently on soil that has been dry for months and months!
The physicist summarized this concept Carlo Katsiamani of Arpa Emilia-Romagna, who told Ansa that the disturbance dumped significant amounts of rain in an area where it had not rained for some time and where the hardened soil was struggling to absorb the rain. “It was like throwing water on the floor,” he concluded.
Once again, the abnormal weather phenomena whose causes lie in our bad activity have hit us and unfortunately in the future it will be worse and worse. However, we have valuable ammunition in our arsenal, including education and working for our country.
And it is exactly thatNational Academy of Linceione of the oldest scientific institutions in Europe, to start the SOS of geologists: according to the latter, in fact, At least one geologist per municipality would be needed to help manage the hydrogeological situation of the area. Which we still don’t have today.
Crises are where the best minds and the best solutions are born, so why not get involved?
Federica Gasbarro works with The Wom independently and is in no way associated with the advertisements that may appear in this content.