Devastating floods sweep through northeastern Italy
Floods swept through parts of the Emilia-Romagna region in northeastern Italy on Sunday after heavy overnight rains, resulting in the death of one person in an area already facing extreme weather conditions.
-
Floods Deprive 10 Million African Children of Education
-
Worsening Humanitarian Crisis in Nigeria Due to Ongoing Floods
Firefighters reported finding the body of a person who had been missing in Botteghino di Zocca, south of Bologna.
Media sources revealed that the victim was a 20-year-old man whose car had been swept away by the waters.
In Bologna and surrounding areas, about 175 mm of rain fell in a single day, while the usual average for the entire month of October is 70 mm, according to regional authorities. A “maximum alert” was declared until midnight Sunday in Bologna and four provinces in the northeastern plains, despite the rain subsiding.
-
Tragic Incident: Two Elephants Lost Due to Flash Floods in Thailand
-
Devastating Floods in Bosnia Claim the Lives of 14 People
Authorities stated in a press release that “the exceptional amount of rain caused flooding in several areas of Bologna, where city streets were submerged, and the drainage systems were unable to absorb the water.”
The city council announced that schools in Bologna would be closed on Monday.
Firefighters shared helicopter photos showing vast stretches of farmland on the outskirts of Bologna partially submerged.
More than 2,100 people were evacuated, and around 15,000 homes were without power.
-
13 dead and dozens injured in violent floods in Afghanistan
-
Tragedy in Iran: 13 People, Including Children, Lost Due to Floods in the South of the Country
By Sunday afternoon, about 4,000 people remained without electricity, according to regional authorities.
The Reno, Enza, Secchia rivers and their tributaries overflowed, and authorities warned of potential landslides in mountainous areas.
Regional authorities reported that 15 waterways had “exceeded the alert threshold,” with eight rivers reaching the third and highest level on the water level warning scale.
They also noted that some rivers had recorded higher levels than those seen in May 2023, when the region was devastated by heavy rains, floods, and landslides that claimed the lives of 17 people.
Those floods were described as the worst in Italy in a century. In September, Storm Boris also hit the region, causing further flooding.
Experts say that climate change, driven by greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, is making extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall and flooding, more frequent and severe.
