Pentecost overshadowed

Storms overwhelm northern regions of Italy

The Italian fire department shows the extent of the storm on its social media profiles.

(Bild: x.com/vigilidelfuoco)

State of emergency at Whitsun in northern Italy. The Veneto region is on red alert for severe weather. In Lombardy, the body of a 66-year-old man was recovered after he was swept away by a stream. Two other people who had also fallen into the water were able to save themselves.

Storms have had the northern regions of Italy firmly in their grip for several days. Heavy rain, thunderstorms and gusts of wind caused flooding in several municipalities in the provinces of Udine and Pordenone on Friday night. The levels of the Tagliamento and Livenza rivers rose sharply. The bad weather cast a massive shadow over the Whitsun weekend.

In this article you can see videos from the Veneto region:

Bridge collapses in the province of Vicenza
Rainfall and thunderstorms that caused considerable damage were also reported in Veneto. A bridge collapsed in Malo in the province of Vicenza. It was swept away by the waters of the Livergon River, which had burst its banks after heavy rainfall. No one was injured, according to local media reports. Heavy rainfall was also reported from Venice.

The Italian fire department shows the extent of the storm on its social media profiles.

(Bild: x.com/vigilidelfuoco)

"Krone" reporter Doris Seebacher experienced the flooding in Venice first-hand on Thursday. Locals and tourists were not deterred from visiting restaurants by the masses of water, as the witness to the downpours captured on video:

20 million cubic meters of water flowed into Lake Garda in 24 hours. The water level is 136 centimetres above hydrometric zero, exactly one year ago it was 73 centimetres.

Citizens should not go outside unnecessarily
For the first time, all six drainage basins in the Veneto region were opened so that the water could be collected. Work to repair the damage was already underway on Friday. The authorities urged the population to exercise caution and asked people to only go outside if absolutely necessary and to stay away from dams.

The fire department released a helicopter video of a flight over the Cologna Veneta area:

"Phenomenon of this magnitude only once in 300 years"
"The situation is devastating. Last night we had three dyke breaches. The University of Padua has confirmed that the rainfall was incredible: 229 millimetres of water fell in just six hours. A phenomenon of this magnitude only occurs once in 300 years," said the President of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia, in an interview with the radio station Radio24. He called on the government in Rome to declare a state of emergency in the Veneto region due to the weather situation. This would allow emergency aid to be released more quickly.

Body of missing pensioner found
The body of a 66-year-old pensioner was found on Friday not far from the town of Cantu in the Lombardy province of Como. He was missing after falling into the Serenza River following the collapse of a bridge. Two other people who had also fallen into the water were able to save themselves.

This week, storms had put the city of Milan and its province under particularly heavy pressure.

Traffic situation slowly returning to normal
Traffic was also affected by the masses of water. Some sections of the A1 highway near Milan had to be temporarily closed - according to the ADAC automobile club, these are now open again. Rail traffic on the Milan-Venice line is gradually being resumed, but remains suspended between Vicenza and Schio and Vicenza and Treviso. There may still be delays, route restrictions or cancellations on regional services. 

Vacations in the affected regions are possible despite the storms, emphasized the ADAC - however, the situation can vary greatly from region to region. However, the situation in the Alpine region remains tense - landslides and mudslides could still occur here.