At least six people have died in violent rainstorms sweeping across Italy on Sunday, with the Tuscan city of Livorno taking the brunt of the flooding, fire services said.
Four people from the same family were found dead in a flooded house in the city, where 16 inches (40 centimetres) of rainfall in four hours transformed streets into rivers and washed away cars.
The dead were a four-year-old boy, his parents and his grandfather, all found in a basement apartment, local daily Il Tirreno said.
The grandfather, who lived on first floor, had managed to rescue a three-year-old girl from the basement but died when he went back to try and save a four-year-old boy, it said.
At least six people have died in violent rainstorms sweeping across Italy on Sunday. The worst-hit region was the Tuscan city of Livorno
Four people from the same family were found dead in a flooded basement apartment in Livorno. The dead were a four-year-old boy, his parents and his grandfather
The grandfather, who lived on first floor, had managed to rescue a three-year-old girl from the basement but died when he went back to try and save a four-year-old boy. Pictured above, emergency services enter a home where bodies were found following the storm
People salvage belongings as they empty a house in the Livorno area, flooded after heavy rain on Sunday
A fifth body was found in an area devastated by landslides, while a sixth was found in a nearby hilltop neighbourhood
A fifth body was found in an area devastated by landslides, while a sixth was found in a nearby hilltop neighbourhood.
A seventh person was killed in a road accident, though it was not yet clear whether it was due to the weather.
Two other people were still believed to be missing, the fire brigade said.
‘The situation is very difficult, it’s critical. The city is on its knees,’ Livorno mayor Filippo Nogarin said.
He said the government had underestimated the danger, issuing a code orange alert for the region rather than red.
‘We didn’t expect this because the alert was orange. Then we woke up to this,’ he said adding that the death toll ‘may still rise’ and could have been avoided entirely if they had known what was coming.
A seventh person was killed in a road accident, though it was not yet clear whether it was due to the weather. Two other people were still believed to be missing, the fire brigade said
Livorno mayor Filippo Nogarin said the government had underestimated the danger, issuing a code orange alert for the region rather than red
He said the government ‘didn’t expect’ the storms to be as bad as they were, and warned that the death toll ‘may still rise’
The storms come as Hurricane Irma ravages the Caribbean and Florida, and just days after Hurricane Harvey struck Texas and Louisiana. Devastating floods also struck Southeast Asia last week
Strong winds toppled trees and following the storms, many parked cars were nearly submerged by flood waters that also left streets clogged with mud
Nogarin appealed for volunteers to help the town, which has a population of about 170,000 and is a popular transit point for travelers catching ferries to the islands of Elba and Sardinia.
Italy’s civil protection service said the code orange alert for Florence was still in place as the storms, which began in northern Italy overnight, swept down the country towards the south.
Underpasses were closed in parts of the capital Rome, and seven tube stations were shut due to flooding.
‘What’s happening in Rome right now is unheard of… with a storm unleashing chaos. Once more the city has proved itself to be completely unprepared for rain,’ said Italian consumer association Codacons.
Coldiretti, Italy’s main agricultural organisation, said the bad weather was aggravated by coming hard on the heels of a drought which had left the land drier than usual and unable to soak up the rains.
Nogarin appealed for volunteers to help the town, which has a population of about 170,000 and is a popular transit point for travelers catching ferries to the islands of Elba and Sardinia
Italy’s civil protection service said the code orange alert for Florence was still in place as the storms, which began in northern Italy overnight, swept down the country towards the south. Pictured above, a partially submerged car in Livorno
People work to empty a home hit by floods in Livorno after heavy rain left the city ravaged with floods and landslides
A man piles wrecked furniture outside his home in the Livorno area, flooded after heavy rain on Sunday
Coldiretti, Italy’s main agricultural organisation, said the bad weather was aggravated by coming hard on the heels of a drought which had left the land drier than usual and unable to soak up the rains
A police officer stands in a flooded crossing in Livorno, Italy. Six bodies have been found following the storms and two people are believed to still be missing
Rainfall in Tuscany in particular had been down 57 per cent this summer, it said.
‘The tropicalisation of the climate is causing an increase in extreme weather events, with heat waves, heavy cloud bursts and violent hailstorms which are damaging the national agricultural production,’ Coldiretti said.
It put the cost of the damage at over 14 billion euros ($16.8 billion) in the last ten years.
Train service was interrupted in parts of the Tuscan coastal area along the Tyrrhenian Sea.
In Rome, which until recently had suffered through 3½ months of drought, the downpour quickly made streets resemble fast-moving streams and several subway stations were closed.
City Hall urged residents and visitors to go outside only for urgent reasons and to avoid parks after midmorning thunderstorms lashed Rome.
It warned that weather forecasts including the possibility of hailstorms and strong winds throughout the rest of Sunday and Monday.
In Rome, which until recently suffered through three and a half months of drought, the downpour made streets resemble fast-moving streams and several underground stations were closed. Pictured above, flooded streets in Livorno
City Hall urged residents and visitors to go outside only for urgent reasons and to avoid parks after midmorning thunderstorms lashed Rome. In Livorno (pictured above), residents are working to clean up the area
Officials warned that weather forecasts including the possibility of hailstorms and strong winds throughout the rest of Sunday and Monday
People are seen next to a damaged house, following floods in Livorno, Italy, on Saturday Rainfall in Tuscany in particular had been down 57 per cent this summer
The tropicalisation of the region has put the cost of the damage at over 14 billion euros ($16.8 billion) in the last ten years.
Train service was interrupted in parts of the Tuscan coastal area along the Tyrrhenian Sea. Pictured above, a man works to empty his home in the Livorno area, flooded after heavy rain on Sunday