Water under observation: hydrocarbons in the Naviglio, rains in Mali, alert in Japan

Three distinct situations, three different levels of verification, one common element: water and those who monitor it.

Milan, the slick that reached the Darsena

A hydrocarbon slick — indicated as probable diesel — has spread along the Naviglio Grande for about 28 kilometers, from the Magenta area to Milan’s Darsena. The figure is updated as of September 5 and is reported by ANSA, which also lists the containment activities: seven drainage barriers placed at different points along the route.

Participating in the operations are, among others, firefighters, Civil Protection, the Villoresi Consortium, the City of Milan and the Metropolitan City. Il Sud Milano, which adds the presence of Arpa and local police forces, reports that the navigation ban on the Naviglio had been in effect since September 4. The two accounts are independent and agree on the scope of the intervention.

On the origin and responsibility for the spill this newspaper does not write: the determination of causes belongs to the judicial sphere, which is not covered here. What can be reported is the geography of the phenomenon and the response of the authorities.

Mali, a provisional toll of the rainy season

In Mali the hivernage season — the rainy period — has produced a toll that national authorities set at 13 dead, 17 injured and 2,790 people in situations of hardship across the country. Faced with a mounting number of destroyed homes, the government has activated an emergency plan. Forecasts for early September indicate violent storms and flash floods in several vulnerable regions, particularly around Bamako.

The news currently comes from a single source (the September 5 review by Maliexpress.net, which reports the Malian authorities’ toll and national weather warnings); no independent confirmation available. As this concerns a death toll, caution is doubled: it is an official figure reported by a single outlet, and rainy season tolls are typically updated multiple times.

Japan, alert over precipitation bands

Over western Japan the national Meteorological Agency has called for maximum alert over intense rainfall, warning of the risk of linear precipitation bands forming — the senjo kosuitai — over parts of Shikoku and Kyushu. These are storm systems that line up and persist for hours over the same stretch of territory, with concentrated accumulations.

In this case too the news currently comes from a single source (the Jiji Press agency, which on September 4 picked up the warning from the Japan Meteorological Agency); no independent confirmation available.

What we do not know

On the Naviglio we do not know the volume of dispersed product, nor the expected timeframe for removal, nor the values detected in the water. On Mali we do not know the territorial breakdown of the victims nor the exact date the toll was updated. On Japan we do not know whether the alert was later raised or lifted, nor whether it led to evacuations.

The verifiable point in the coming hours is a single one for each case: the lifting or maintenance of the navigation ban in Milan, the next toll from the Malian authorities, the alert level issued by the Japanese agency.