Napoli: “To determine the causes of the structural damage to the building at number 113”
It’s a movie that we have seen in Naples, and on the Vomero hill in particular, several times before, without the underlying problems of these events, which fortunately do not turn into tragedies, being resolved – says Gennaro Capodanno, engineer and president of the Committee of Hill Values – I remember, just to give an example, when it happened on Via Orsi in mid-October 2022.
Even in that case, due to a structural collapse, the road had to be closed and the affected building had to be evacuated. And even then, as we read in the media statements today, there were those who blamed the condominiums who should, obviously at their own expense, call a structural engineer to periodically assess the structural conditions of the building. In short, the usual story that has been repeated for years, in similar circumstances, of the infamous “building file”, which is convenient for the usual blame game.
“However – emphasizes Capodanno – in the case of the building at number 113 Via Solimena, this reasoning does not hold. In fact, the building in question was renovated just last year, and even during the excavation, hastily carried out yesterday when the event occurred, it was seen that there were abundant water infiltrations in the underground of the road in front of the vertical axis of staircase A, which was affected by the collapse.
Whether this is a cause or a contributing factor to the damage suffered by the residents of the building on the corner with Via Merliani – adds Capodanno – will be difficult to determine, even if the judiciary were to intervene. A possible court-appointed technical consultant, given that the state of the place has completely changed, would have quite a few difficulties in clarifying the dynamics of the events and determining the causes.
Unfortunately – points out Capodanno – in Naples we pay the consequences of the age and decay of a large part of the sewer and water networks, for which constant and efficient monitoring is notoriously lacking, to be carried out telematically, also aimed at quickly identifying any leaks, thus avoiding the washing away of the soil, with the creation of large cavities that, over time, lead to road collapses, as recently happened on Via Manzoni, or, even worse, damage to the foundations of buildings, with consequent evacuations and repercussions on citizens. Networks that should, in many cases, be replaced considering the long time since their installation, through a prior mapping of the existing ones. A situation that has been well known for a long time, for which it does not appear that the necessary and appropriate initiatives have ever been taken until now. Now, in light of this latest, at least for the moment, episode, the issue will be in the spotlight of the news for a while, only to unfortunately be forgotten later.
At present – says Capodanno – the only positive note is that the stretch of Via Solimena, between Via Luca Giordano and Via Merliani, has been reopened to vehicular traffic. Only the part of the road in front of the building remains closed, where the construction site is still present and where, despite a yellow alert being expected for today that will turn orange tomorrow, no action has been taken to cover, at least with plastic sheets, the part of the road where the excavation was carried out, currently without asphalt.
For the rest – Capodanno concludes – the most serious aspect of this bitter event remains. Namely, the evacuation of the homes in staircase A of the building, without knowing when the occupants, we are talking about 13 families, will be able to return to their homes, as well as the three commercial activities on the ground floor of the affected vertical axis that remain closed. Incalculable damage to civil society that will certainly have repercussions.
