“Flood water” in northeastern Italy killed one person and left the Emilia-Romagna region under water on Sunday, local officials said.
Heavy overnight rain and flooding hit the flat which has been crippled by bad weather as recently as last month.
Regional authorities say flooding has hit the city of Bologna and its outskirts, with much of the fertile farmland at risk of flooding.
Firefighters say they found the body of a missing person in Botteghino di Zocca, south of Bologna. County officials identified him as a 20-year-old man whose car was swept away by the floodwaters.
In the city of Bologna and nearby areas, 175 millimeters (about 7 centimeters) of rain fell in one day, compared to the historical average of 70 millimeters for the entire month of October, regional authorities said.
Bologna and four provinces in the north-eastern part of the plain were placed under a “red alert” until midnight on Sunday, although the rains had eased since Saturday.
“The unusual amount of rain has caused flooding in many areas of Bologna, with city streets flooded and sewers and pipes unable to absorb the water,” a regional statement said.
Schools in Bologna will be closed on Monday, the city hall said.
– Rivers rise –
Firefighters have released video footage taken from a helicopter showing the extent of flooded farmland outside Bologna.
More than 500 firefighters have worked to rescue people or animals from the rising waters in more than 515 operations since midnight, they said.
More than 2,100 people have been evacuated and about 15,000 people lost power overnight. As of Sunday afternoon, about 4,000 people remained without power, the county said.
The Reno, Enza and Secchia rivers and streams, as well as their associated streams, burst their banks, and local officials warned of possible landslides in hilly and mountainous areas.
15 waterways have “passed the alarm”, and eight rivers have exceeded the level 3 alert level, the district said.
The region said some rivers have recorded levels higher than those reached in May 2023, when the area was ravaged by heavy rains, floods and landslides that killed 17 people.
The flood was described as Italy’s worst in a century.
In September, the tail end of Storm Boris hit the area again, bringing a new wave of flooding to the region.
Experts say climate change caused by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods and landslides.
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