Floods, landslides
Storms in Italy: video shows dramatic situation
Severe storms have been causing chaos in Italy since Monday - now there is a red alert. The regions of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna are particularly affected. Smaller communities have been cut off and hundreds of people have already had to be evacuated. A new video (see above) shows the dramatic situation.
It has been raining incessantly since Monday and the situation has worsened dramatically since then. Further rainfall was also expected during the course of Saturday.
In Emilia-Romagna, over 100 liters of rain per square meter have already fallen in places - with devastating consequences. Roads are flooded, houses are under water and landslides have buried roads.
In Tuscany, the river Arno reached a critical level of five meters in the city of Pisa. In Florence, the water level stood at 4.05 meters. And the trend is rising! Authorities fear that the river will burst its banks.
Rail links interrupted
Nine smaller communities in the province of Florence are cut off from the outside world, 248 people had to be evacuated and housed in civil defense rooms, the authorities announced on Saturday. There were power cuts in several municipalities. Some regional rail connections were interrupted after trees fell.
In the city of Florence, the authorities ordered the early closure of the Uffizi Gallery, the world-famous art museum. Florence Cathedral, schools, parks and cemeteries were also closed as a precautionary measure.
The Sieve, the largest tributary of the Arno, which overflowed its banks in several towns from Mugello to Pontassieve (Florence), reached levels similar to those in 1966, when there was catastrophic flooding in Florence on November 4, reported the civil defense.
And in Sesto Fiorentino, the Rimaggio river burst its banks and flooded all the main roads. The city called on its residents not to leave their homes and to seek refuge on higher floors.
Towns closed, ferries canceled, schools closed
The city council of Prato ordered the closure of all stores and businesses on Friday morning - for fear of further flooding. Schools were closed in over 60 municipalities in Tuscany and ferry services to the island of Elba were also suspended.
In the province of Lucca, heavy rainfall caused landslides. The road to the famous Apennine mountain Abetone is currently impassable.
Italy on alert
Head of government Giorgia Meloni wrote on X: "My thoughts are with the people affected by the storm that is hitting various areas of Italy and causing great damage and difficulties for citizens." She assured those affected of the government's support.
"Calling on all citizens to be vigilant"
The President of the Tuscany region, Eugenio Giani, called on Facebook: "I call on all citizens to be extremely vigilant and careful." The situation is critical and further rainfall is expected. The tributaries of the Arno - including the Sieve, Ombrone Pistoiese and Pesa, which flow through more rural areas of Tuscany - are also particularly dangerous.
Schools were also closed in Bologna and residents in several towns were evacuated as a precaution.
Italy is worried - and so are countless vacationers. Anyone planning to travel to the affected regions should follow the situation closely.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Kommentare
Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.
User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.