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Monday 6 November 2017

NO SURPRISES..

Last night it started raining, not that pleasant gentle drizzle that we are good at in England, but the heavy stuff, bucketing out of the sky in solid sheets of water.
You didn't need  to be a genius or have a crystal ball to predict what would happen with rain like that. We had already had a foretaste some weeks ago. 
This time it was much worse. It hit harder, for longer and was more widespread.
Positano was one of places  worst affected, the road down to the centre turning into a fast flowing river carrying sludge, stones and debris right down to the  beach. The mayor sensibly decided to close the schools for the day.
The village of Nocelle was once again isolated, the road having to be bulldozed clear not once but twice during the course of the day.
On the Sorrento side of the coast, Faito was completely cut off and still is, thanks to  mud and rock slides invading the main road. Tomorrow they are going to reactivate the cable car, which had just stopped for the winter, to allow some access to residents and visitors stuck up there.
And so I could go on. Tramonti, Ravello, Amalfi, there have been problems all over.
This morning the local news was full of dramatic headlines. "Positano News" in particular is pretty good at those and its : "รจ terrore!"  did not disappoint
However, in all honesty, the photos circulating, (thank you Fabio Fusco  for allowing me to borrow some of them!), do not paint a reassuring picture at all.
(this photo from Positano News)
We are used to the occasional rock falling onto the roads despite the metal netting designed to hold them back. Now however, thanks to this summer's fires, there is little or nothing that anyone can do to prevent a repetition of today. The slopes are too high and too steep and there is nothing left to hold it all back
I very much fear that this is just the beginning of what is going to be a long and difficult winter, and all thanks to the criminals or demented minds who caused this to happen in the first place.


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