Italy
Violent storms in Tuscany – three dead
A flooded street with numerous cars underwater in Lamporecchio, northern Italy. photo
© -/Vigili del Fuoco/dpa
Motorways are closed and there is flooding in many Tuscan cities. There are also reports of missing people.
Severe storms with heavy rain hit the central Italian region Tuscany hit on Friday night. At least three people were killed, as the region’s president, Eugenio Giani, announced this morning. The province of Prato in the north of the region, which is popular with holidaymakers, was particularly affected. “We have never recorded so much rain in so few minutes,” Giani wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Several people were injured and there are reports of missing people.
Giani declared a state of emergency for the region early Friday morning. The fire department responded to more than 1,000 missions in the area. In addition, more than 40,000 households in the area not far from Florence are without electricity. The Bisenzio River overflowed its banks and flooded several communities. Videos on social media showed how many cars were swept away by the water on a street in the town of Campi Bisenzio.
Hospitals were also flooded
Parts of the A11 motorway had to be closed. There were significant problems with rail traffic. In some areas the torrents of water were so powerful that hospitals were also flooded. Civil defense was on duty at night. He warned people on Thursday evening and called on them not to leave the house.
The Veneto region in the northeast of the Mediterranean country was also affected by the severe storms. One person went missing in the province of Belluno, north of Venice. It is a firefighter who was not on duty but had stacked sandbags by a river as he prepared for the storm.