At least five people have died in severe storms with heavy rain in the central Italian region of Tuscany. On Friday night there was some severe flooding in the region, which is popular with holidaymakers, after extremely large amounts of rain fell.
“We have never recorded so much rain in so few minutes,” Tuscan President Eugenio Giani wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Several people were injured and there are reports of missing people.
The municipalities of Campi Bisenzio, Prato and Quarrata in the province of Prato were particularly affected. “In just a few hours, 155 millimeters of rain fell. An event that, as far as we know, has not happened for at least two centuries,” said Prato Mayor Matteo Biffoni. The storm turned the streets in several villages into torrents of water and mud. Seen from the air, the area not far from Florence resembles a lake landscape. Entire streets and fields are flooded.
Cars are swept away by the water
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.
Parts of Autobahn 11 were 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. On Thursday evening he called on people not to leave the house.
Veneto is also affected
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is “following the development of the catastrophic events with great concern,” said a statement from her official residence. She expressed her deep sympathy to the victims. Meanwhile, Tuscany President Giani discussed the further procedure with Meloni. According to Giani, the government in Rome is considering declaring a national emergency due to the situation in Tuscany in order to be able to take quicker measures for aid and compensation.
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.
In addition to Italy, France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany were also affected by severe storms with heavy rain and storms. The storm “Ciaran” caused some major damage there. Several people died.
