• Bad weather.

    Orange alert in Lombardy.

    Yellow in 5 regions

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July 26, 2021 Shattered windshield, dented bodywork and lots and lots of fear.

This is what happened in the afternoon in the section of the A1 between Parma and Piacenza and immortalized in hundreds of photos and videos that have made the rounds of social networks.

Hundreds of vehicles riddled with ice balls that forced motorists to stop creating serious traffic problems.

So much so that it was also necessary to close the motorway section - for over two hours, until 19.20 - on which several rear-end collisions were also recorded.

The most dramatic situation was experienced near Fidenza in the direction of Milan.   



Bad weather suddenly hit the convent and storms in Northern Italy that also devastated fields, vineyards and orchards while, on the contrary, the South has been suffering from a lack of rain for three months now. Social networks today were filled with photos and videos of motorists stranded along the Autosole. Many have collected the hail, while behind them slowly passed the cars devastated by the blows. Glass and windshield destroyed or completely dented, with many motorists forced to wait for emergency vehicles.   



In the same area today a storm of wind and rain has created considerable damage in an area that goes from the river Po to Salsomaggiore Terme, passing through Colorno, San Polo di Torrile and Fidenza. Some buildings have been uncovered by the wind, hundreds of houses from which the tiles have flown to the ground. In Villarotta di Luzzara, in the Bassa Reggiana, a 78-year-old pensioner was hit by a glass window that fell inside a shed of the family business. Bad weather also caused damage in the province of Modena, where there are also three injured. The intense rain, the strong wind and the steps particularly affected Sassuolo, but also the areas of Maranello, Castelnuovo Rangone and Castelfranco Emilia. Gusts of wind also recorded in the Lower Modena area.In Novi a tree fell hitting a van that was in transit on a provincial road, two people were injured. A third person, also in Novi, appears to have needed medical assistance again due to bad weather.   



Damage and calls to the fire brigade also in other areas of Northern Italy. In particular, the province of Cremona was hit with damaged roofs and cars, fallen plants, flooded houses and shops and some shaken crops. Also closed as a precaution a shopping center where some roof panels have detached. A violent hailstorm with grains as big as walnuts then hit a large part of the Oltrepò Mantovano. The most affected municipalities were Suzzara and Gonzaga where there was serious damage to agriculture. Fortunately, no injuries were recorded. Also damaged by hail were many cars, whose drivers were taken by surprise.   



The situation does not seem to improve in the next few hours. The Department of Civil Protection has in fact issued a new weather alert that still provides widespread rainfall, which locally may also be very intense and accompanied by hailstorms, lightning and strong gusts of wind, on Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and high Tuscany. The Department also assessed an orange alert on most of Lombardy for tomorrow.