Abstract
On 14 August 2018, Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy, collapsed to the ground that was 40 m below. This tragedy killed 43 people. Preliminary investigations indicated poor design, questionable building practices, and insufficient maintenance—or a combination of these factors—as a possible cause of the collapse. However, around the collapse time, a thunderstorm associated with strong winds, lightning, and rain also developed over the city. While it is unclear if this thunderstorm played a role in the collapse, the present study examines the weather conditions before and during the bridge collapse. The study particularly focuses on the analysis of a downburst that was observed around the collapse time and a few kilometers away from the bridge. Direct and remote sensing measurements are used to describe the evolution of the thunderstorm during its approached from the sea to the city. The Doppler lidar measurements allowed the reconstruction of the gust front shape and the evaluation of its displacement velocity of 6.6 m s−1 towards the lidar. The Weather Research and Forecasting simulations highlighted that it is still challenging to forecast localized thunderstorms with operational setups. The study has shown that assimilation of radar reflectivity improves the timing and reconstruction of the gust front observed by local measurements.
Highlights
Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy—named after its designer Riccardo Morandi—was built during1963–1967, and it collapsed on 14 August 2018 at 11:36 a.m. local Italian time (09:36 UTC)
A trough that extended in the meridional direction down to the Northern Mediterranean caused instability along its path as it moved from the Bay of Biscay to the north of Italy
Since the forensic investigation of the collapsed bridge has not pinpointed the exact factors that caused the collapse, the goal of this paper was to provide the contributions in terms of observed and modeled weather conditions around the collapse time
Summary
Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy—named after its designer Riccardo Morandi—was built during. 1963–1967, and it collapsed on 14 August 2018 at 11:36 a.m. local Italian time (09:36 UTC). Preliminary investigations after the collapse indicated poor design, questionable building practices, and insufficient maintenance, or a combination of them, as possible causes of the collapse. At the time of the collapse, a violent thunderstorm was striking the city, but it is still not clear whether it played a role in this disaster due to the lack of meteorological measurements in the vicinity of the bridge at the collapse time. Thunderstorms are severe weather phenomena associated with strong winds, sometimes hail, lightning, and heavy rain. There are 20:00 thunderstorms around the world at any given
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