Rome Suffers Freak Tornado Paralysis

by Antonino John Scoppettuolo (Staff) | Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

A bout of extraordinary bad weather, including winds of up to 90 kmh, hit the capital yesterday bringing down in excess of 50 trees, causing inevitable chaos, traffic gridlock, killing a 21-year-old and injuring a total of five persons (one of whom in critical condition). The freak weather phenomenon, classified as a small tornado, is described by meteorologists as having ’struck ground’ just a few miles east of the capital’s ring road, in Via di Lunghezzina.

Gale force winds kicked in at approximately 5 p.m. accompanied by heavy downpours. A total of close to 30 roads had to be closed including the Cassia, Prenestina, Casilina, Tiburtina and Tuscolana major thoroughfares. Bus routes and the Rome-Viterbo rail line were temporarily discontinued or rerouted. Ensuing traffic jams paralysed traffic heading in and out of the capital at rush hour.

With a high proportion of damage and casualties caused by falling trees, conservationists at Legambiente criticised the City’s parks services track record on tree maintenance. Environment councillor Fabio De Lillo was quick to point out that no amount of pruning could have secured Rome’s estimated 340,000 trees against collapse given the extraordinary nature of yesterday’s occurrence.