On the second day of the passage of storm Ciaran in Europe, northern Italy was strongly affected this Thursday, November 2 in the evening by precipitation causing significant flooding, particularly in Tuscany. At least two deaths are to be deplored.
“Stay home.” Eugenio Giani, President of Tuscany, used the same words this Thursday evening as Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, just before the passage of storm Ciaran to the west of France. It is therefore now the north of Italy which is hit by extremely violent bad weather.
“I invite all those who do not have an urgent and unavoidable need to travel in the city, except for reasons of service or health, not to leave their homes. The situation is very critical and the roads are not are not passable,” alerted Matteo Franconu, the mayor of Pontedera, a town a few kilometers southeast of Pisa.
About fifty kilometers to the east, just north of Florence, in Prato, the Bisenzio river overflowed in several places, causing torrents leading to evacuations.
Impressive videos
On social networks, several videos showing flooded streets of Prato, where the flood carries away cars, have been published. According to Rai, the city’s underpasses and cycle paths were closed. Around 11 p.m., the mayor of the town of Montemurlo confirmed on Italian television that a man was found dead at his home, after his home was invaded by water. Another person died in the town of Rosignano, added the governor of Tuscany.
According to local media TV Prato, the entrance, the basement and part of the ground floor of the Santo Stefano Hospital were flooded. All schools in surrounding communities will be closed on Friday.
On the Lake Como side, the water level was rising in the evening. Banks even overflowed in one area of the city.
Around 10 p.m., Rai confirmed that a person was missing in the Belluno region, much further north in Veneto. It concerns an off-duty firefighter who slipped into a watercourse, higher than normal. Research is still ongoing.