Three dead as torrential rain buries the Sardinian town of Bitti in mudslides 

Three dead as torrential rain buries the Sardinian town of Bitti in mudslides

  • Three people have been killed in mudslides in the town of Bitti in Sardinia 
  •  Rescuers on Sunday retrieved the body of an 89-year-old woman 
  • On Saturday, the bodies of the two other victims were found 

Three people have died as mudslides covered the streets in the town of Bitti in Italy’s Sardinia, after the area was struck by a storm.   

Rescuers on Sunday retrieved the body of an elderly woman, the third fatality after the town was partially buried a day earlier by mudslides after torrential rainfall.

The Italian news agency LaPresse said that the corpse of the 89-year-old victim had washed downhill from near her home to the town basketball court.

On Saturday, the bodies of the two other victims were found. 

Cars lie amongst the rubble at the scene of the destruction caused by the flood that hit the town of Bitti causing the death of three people on November 29

Rescuers on Sunday retrieved the body of an elderly woman, the third fatality after the town was partially buried a day earlier by mudslides after torrential rainfall. The mudslides are pictured above

Rescuers on Sunday retrieved the body of an elderly woman, the third fatality after the town was partially buried a day earlier by mudslides after torrential rainfall. The mudslides are pictured above 

A car lies destroyed and buried in mud after the flood hit the town of Bitti in Sardinia

A car lies destroyed and buried in mud after the flood hit the town of Bitti in Sardinia

One was a rancher who was caught up in the raging muddy waters on his way home; the other was a 90-year-old man in his home.

The mud in the streets reached the second floor of many buildings. 

Rescue crews and residents on Sunday, walking on top of the heavily packed mud, found themselves flanking upper-story balconies in the town of 2,700 people in east-central Sardinia in the province of Nuoro. 

The floodwaters and mounds of mud overturned and smashed cars, leaving vehicles half-buried in dirt and debris.

destroyed car sits amongst the rubble in the town of Bitti severely affected by the flood that killed three people on November 29

destroyed car sits amongst the rubble in the town of Bitti severely affected by the flood that killed three people on November 29

A view of the town of Bitti which was hit hard by the flood and which caused the death of three people as well as the destruction of houses, businesses and cars

A view of the town of Bitti which was hit hard by the flood and which caused the death of three people as well as the destruction of houses, businesses and cars

A young woman cries in front of her car which has been destroyed by the flood that hit the town of Bitti in Sardinia on November 29

A young woman cries in front of her car which has been destroyed by the flood that hit the town of Bitti in Sardinia on November 29

A car lies destroyed after the flood hit the town of Bitti in Sardinia on November 29

A car lies destroyed after the flood hit the town of Bitti in Sardinia on November 29

Geologists noted that the storm-triggered calamity was the latest of several similar ones, including one in November 2013 that claimed 19 lives, to afflict the Mediterranean island

Geologists noted that the storm-triggered calamity was the latest of several similar ones, including one in November 2013 that claimed 19 lives, to afflict the Mediterranean island

Geologists noted that the storm-triggered calamity was the latest of several similar ones, including one in November 2013 that claimed 19 lives, to afflict the Mediterranean island. 

They stressed that many inhabited areas were developed on geologically unstable terrain.

Sardinia Governor Christian Solinas on Sunday lamented what he said was ‘excessive bureaucracy’ in the failure to implement projects, funded in the wake of the 2013 flooding, to make areas of the island geologically safe.

Cars lie destroyed in mud after the flood hit the town of Bitti in Sardinia on November 29

Cars lie destroyed in mud after the flood hit the town of Bitti in Sardinia on November 29

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