Italy swamped by flash floods

  • 10 years ago
After flash floods hit the Italian regions of Tuscany, Liguria and Venice, Rome is now on red alert.

Heavy rains left the Tuscan city of Carrara submerged on Wednesday, but the situation has improved. Authorities report that two-thirds of the flood water have subsided.

@alinomilan segnalo alluvione a #Carrara. pic.twitter.com/foBCImyGRh— Ale Maggiani (@alemaggiani) November 5, 2014


Alluvione a #Carrara: il disastro dall'alto nelle foto dei vigili del fuoco http://t.co/gcgPnSlYQr pic.twitter.com/YrRX2D2OWj— Il Tirreno (@iltirreno) November 5, 2014


Two people who were reported missing on Wednesday have been found and another five were airlifted to safety.

UPDATE [05.11-16:02] #Carrara #AllertaMeteoTOS #AlluvioneCarrara in diretta: http://t.co/edwADCnZ4K #emergenza24 pic.twitter.com/oqTHfSQQsG— Emergenza24 (@Emergenza24) November 5, 2014


Venice was hit by high waters, and people could be seen wading through St Mark’s square.

St Marks #Venice #Flood pic.twitter.com/doSpiOU8P7— Philip Bolton (@philipdotcom) November 5, 2014


The region’s agricultural association (CIA) said that the deluge had destroyed many orchards and vineyards while livestock such as lambs were drowned. They complained that poor land management had contributed to the disaster.

The sector has already been hit hard by the Russian embargo on EU foodstuffs and low prices. Bad weather has already cost farmers around one billion euros this year.

Up to 110 mm of rain is forecast for the capital, triggering school closures.

Red alerts were also issued for regions stretching from Veneto to Umbria as well as Lazio and Sicily.

See the full video from the Coast Guard in Carrara.

Carrara: vittime dell'alluvione chiedono aiuto all'elicottero della Guar...: http://t.co/PJfwnZkPTM via @YouTube— Lorenzo Lorenzetti (@LorenzoSurfer) November 6, 2014