The Italian government declares a state of emergency due to the storms. One person is still missing.
The death toll from severe storms in the Italian region of Tuscany has risen to seven. The body of a man missing after the floods was found on Saturday. The 69-year-old man was missing in Campi Bisenzio, one of the communities in greater Florence most affected by the storms. This brought the death toll from the floods to seven. Another person was still missing for now.
Most of the deaths were reported in the municipality of Montemurlo, north of Florence, where the Bisenzio River burst its banks. The cities of Prato, Empoli and Pontedera were particularly affected. Several people who had to abandon their homes in the flooded areas were housed in parishes. Schools in several Tuscan communities will remain closed at the beginning of next week.
A photo of Oste in Tuscany. Portal/Yara Nardi
A lot of rain in an extremely short period of time
In Tuscany, it has not rained so much in such a short period of time in 50 years, explained regional president Eugenio Giani. It hasn’t rained this much since 1966. Hundreds of rescue unit members and volunteers were mobilized to clear mud and debris from the streets of affected communities. Water pumps were in constant use. There were power and drinking water cuts in several communities.
The government in Rome declared a state of emergency because of the storms. As a result, five million euros were released for initial relief measures, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced at a press conference. She expressed her condolences to the population affected by the storms.
Another region in northern Italy was hit hard
The Veneto region in northern Italy was also hit hard by the storms, as were Emilia Romagna and Lombardy. In Milan, the River Seveso flooded, having already overflowed its banks on Tuesday and flooded some neighborhoods of the financial metropolis. Devastating storms had already occurred in Emilia Romagna in May, killing 15 people and causing billions of dollars in damage.
The bad weather front is expected to continue over the next few days. The municipality of Venice plans to use the MOSE dam system for the second time in a week to protect the city center from flooding. Temperatures also fell in Sicily. Snow fell on the Etna volcano.
According to the dpa news agency, the situation also remained tense in France. The consequences of the “Ciaran” storm are still being felt; on Saturday morning, 260,000 families were still without power. And the next storm was expected to hit the country in the evening. In western France, the second-highest alert level of orange was in effect for several departments due to the threat of strong gusts of wind. There was also the threat of strong waves on the Atlantic coast and the eastern Mediterranean coast. (APA)