Heavy storms hit Italy on Sunday night. A 20-year-old was found dead in Pianoro near Bologna in the northern Italian region of Emilia Romagna. His car was swept away by the waters of a river that suddenly burst its banks.
The man was in the car with his brother, who managed to escape and raised the alarm, Italian media report. “We cannot reach a large part of the city. The telephone connections are down. We are asking for help,” said Luca Vecchiettini, mayor of Pianoro. The situation is critical. In the municipality, evacuations have been ordered in some areas badly affected by flooding.
The province of Bologna and the area around the Adriatic resort of Cesenatico were particularly affected by the storms. Several houses had to be evacuated in the small towns of Budrio, Molinella and Bagnacavallo. Due to the heavy rainfall, many roads in the Bologna area were impassable.
Intensive amounts of rain in a very short time
More than 80 millimeters of rain fell in about four hours on Sunday evening, flooding much of the city of Bologna and the surrounding area. The critical phase began around 9 p.m. when the Ravone River burst its banks and blocked one of the main access roads to the city center, where, among other things, the municipal hospital is located. There were power outages in several parts of Bologna.
Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore called on people on social media not to take to the streets throughout the city, not to use cars and to move to higher floors if they are near water flows. Many roads in the province were completely or partially closed. Rail traffic also came to a partial standstill.
Dark memories awaken
The Emilia Romagna region, to which Bologna belongs, was already hit by heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding in mid-September. Thousands of people were evacuated. In May 2023, 17 people were killed in severe storms in the region. The material damage ran into billions. Heavy storms also hit the area in early October.
Heavy rainfall is expected in 13 of Italy’s 20 regions on Sunday. Heavy rain also fell in Sicily, which has suffered from severe drought in recent months. There were serious floods in Catania and Agrigento.
In the Sicilian port city of Licata, the Sasso River overflowed its banks and flooded several parts of the city. Some people were stuck on the roof of their cars. A man clinging to the pillars of a bridge was rescued by a ground fire team. Several houses near the river were evacuated.
Source: Krone
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